U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has less than 30 days to launch an exclusion process for the third tranche of Trade Act Section 301 tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports that took effect Sept. 24 under the spending bill President Donald Trump signed Friday averting a second government shutdown.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch research analysts take a "benign view" of the likelihood of new Section 232 tariffs on the auto sector and an increase to the Section 301 tariffs on goods from China, they said in a Feb. 15 report. Aditya Bhave and Ethan Harris, both global economists at the bank, said that while the Commerce Department seems likely to conclude that auto imports are a national security threat, "sustained auto tariffs" are not expected. "Reasons include delays in the release of the report, the extent of lobbying pressure against the tariffs, and the Trump administration’s hesitance to slap tariffs on consumer products, of which autos are among the most visible," the economists said.

International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Feb. 11-15 in case they were missed.

It bears watching how U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer interprets his “instruction” to initiate an exclusion process as required under the Feb. 15 spending bill (see 1902150047), customs lawyer Ted Murphy of Baker McKenzie blogged. That includes whether Lighthizer will apply it retroactively to Sept. 24. Though “the expectation that USTR will create an exclusion process within 30 days is clear,” less so is “exactly what it will cover and how it will be implemented,” he said.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson in Beijing sidestepped questions Thursday about President Donald Trump’s remarks suggesting he might be willing to let the March 1 deadline “slide” for raising the 10 percent Section 301 tariffs to 25 percent on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports if U.S and China negotiators are close to reaching a comprehensive trade agreement (see 1902130040). Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer are in Beijing for the latest round of trade talks that began Thursday. “We all hope that a deal could be reached,” said the spokesperson. “At present, all we could do is ensure that the two delegations could concentrate on having a good round of consultation and work for a mutually accepted and mutually beneficial outcome, which is also to the benefit of the world.”

As the U.S. approaches the “final weeks” of negotiations with China on a comprehensive trade deal, “we urge you to insist that the deal make substantial, verifiable, and enforceable progress to address the myriad threats identified” in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s Trade Act Section 301 report on allegedly unfair Chinese trade practices, seven Democratic senators wrote President Donald Trump Wednesday. "Any acceptable agreement must, at a minimum, commit China to cease the predatory practices” uncovered in the 301 investigation, including forced technology transfer and discriminatory licensing terms, said the letter by Sens. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Mark Warner of Virginia, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Ben Cardin of Maryland, Michael Bennet of Colorado and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada. "The only way to hold the Chinese government to its word is to lay out clear metrics by which we can judge compliance," they said. Ending China’s unfair trade practices is “a critical step” toward “reversing the damage” those policies have had on the U.S. economy. they said.

As the U.S. approaches the “final weeks” of negotiations with China on a comprehensive trade deal, “we urge you to insist that the deal make substantial, verifiable, and enforceable progress to address the myriad threats identified” in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s Trade Act Section 301 report on allegedly unfair Chinese trade practices, seven Democratic senators wrote President Donald Trump Wednesday. "Any acceptable agreement must, at a minimum, commit China to cease the predatory practices” uncovered in the 301 investigation, including forced technology transfer and discriminatory licensing terms, said the letter by Sens. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Mark Warner of Virginia, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Ben Cardin of Maryland, Michael Bennet of Colorado and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada. "The only way to hold the Chinese government to its word is to lay out clear metrics by which we can judge compliance," they said. Ending China’s unfair trade practices is “a critical step” toward “reversing the damage” those policies have had on the U.S. economy. they said.

As the U.S. approaches the “final weeks” of negotiations with China on a comprehensive trade deal, “we urge you to insist that the deal make substantial, verifiable, and enforceable progress to address the myriad threats identified” in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s Trade Act Section 301 report on allegedly unfair Chinese trade practices, seven Democratic senators wrote President Donald Trump Wednesday. "Any acceptable agreement must, at a minimum, commit China to cease the predatory practices” uncovered in the 301 investigation, including forced technology transfer and discriminatory licensing terms, said the letter by Sens. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Mark Warner of Virginia, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Ben Cardin of Maryland, Michael Bennet of Colorado and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada. "The only way to hold the Chinese government to its word is to lay out clear metrics by which we can judge compliance," they said. Ending China’s unfair trade practices is “a critical step” toward “reversing the damage” those policies have had on the U.S. economy. they said.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson in Beijing sidestepped questions Thursday about President Donald Trump’s remarks suggesting he might be willing to let the March 1 deadline “slide” for raising the 10 percent Section 301 tariffs to 25 percent on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports if U.S and China negotiators are close to reaching a comprehensive trade agreement (see 1902130040). Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer are in Beijing for the latest round of trade talks that began Thursday. “We all hope that a deal could be reached,” said the spokesperson. “At present, all we could do is ensure that the two delegations could concentrate on having a good round of consultation and work for a mutually accepted and mutually beneficial outcome, which is also to the benefit of the world.”

The mini-Omnibus bill that was signed by President Donald Trump Feb. 15 requires the creation of an exclusion process for the third tranche of Section 301 tariffs by March 17. The third tranche faces a lower tariff than the first two rounds -- 10 percent -- and because of that, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has not allowed importers of those items to apply for exclusions. The USTR has to report to the congressional appropriations committees, the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, by that date on the status of that process. Before that date, USTR will need to consult with those committees "regarding the nature and timing of the exclusion process," Congress wrote. The same bill also dedicated new funding toward processing Section 232 exclusion requests (see 1902140027).