The Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users said the U.S. negotiators aiming to end Section 232 tariffs by addressing steel overcapacity should listen to U.S. industrial users of the metals.

The U.S.-European Union joint statement on trade says: "We will engage in discussions to allow the resolution of existing differences on measures regarding steel and aluminum before the end of the year. In this regard, we are determined to work together to resolve tensions arising from the U.S. application of tariffs on imports from the EU under U.S. Section 232." It also says, "We commit to ensure the long-term viability of our steel and aluminum industries, and to address excess capacity."

The leaders of Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, the U.S. and Italy agreed to work collectively toward eradicating the use of all forms of forced labor in global supply chains, and said they want concrete suggestions ready before the G-7 trade ministers' meeting in October.

Metal-using and other trade associations, including the U.S. Fashion Industry Association, the American Apparel and Footwear Association and the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, sent a letter June 9 to President Joe Biden asking him to expedite discussions with the European Union to address global steel and aluminum overcapacity so the Section 232 tariffs can be lifted as soon as possible. The 33 trade groups wrote, "These tariffs and quotas continue to hurt small, family-owned businesses and the communities in which they built their companies, while fracturing relations with overseas trading partners and spurring a frenzy of retaliatory trade measures against both related and unrelated industries."

A draft prepared in advance of the European Union-U.S. summit says the EU and the U.S. agree to work to find a way to roll back the Section 232 tariffs on European steel and aluminum by Dec. 1, Bloomberg reported June 8. The two sides previously said they were working on finding an effective way to counter Chinese overcapacity in metals by the end of the year, so the tariffs could be lifted. The EU has said it will immediately lift its retaliatory tariffs against American exports once the 232 tariffs are gone. The same draft also says the U.S. and the EU pledge to resolve the Airbus-Boeing dispute by July 11. That's when the temporary pause on tariffs on both sides is slated to end.

Israel and South Korea earlier this month signed a free trade agreement, marking the first trade deal between South Korea and a Middle Eastern country, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported May 21. The agreement will reduce tariffs and eliminate duties on certain manufactured goods and electronics, including cars, phones, machinery, chemicals and plastics. The report said that more than 95% of each country’s exports won’t be subject to tariffs, including shipments of semiconductor manufacturing equipment from Israel to South Korea.

The day before the first USMCA Free Trade Commission meeting, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Canada's trade minister, Mary Ng, talked about how to strengthen North American supply chains, combat forced labor and climate change, and reform the World Trade Organization.

Dairy trade groups complained to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai that consultations have gone on long enough, and said it's time to open a formal dispute with Canada over its implementation of tariff rate quotas for dairy products. “America’s dairy farmers appreciated USTR initiating consultations with Canada on its dairy TRQ allocation measures and the decision to hold USMCA Free Trade Commission discussions to pursue reforms,” National Milk Producers Federation CEO Jim Mulhern said in a May 16 news release. “But Canada has always been obstinate on dairy, and at this stage it is increasingly clear that further action is needed to ensure a fair and transparent enforcement of USMCA.” The 68 trade groups said the dispute must begin because the next TRQ year begins July 1, but a dispute panel would take longer than that to rule.

Agricultural trade groups recently wrote to President Joe Biden, asking him to quickly nominate someone for the job of chief agricultural negotiator at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. “The world is moving forward on trade agreements, and unjustified barriers to U.S. food and agricultural exports are growing,” the letter said, so the office needs an advocate for expanding agricultural market access for U.S. food, seafood and ag products.

Canadian and Australian trade officials met last week in the first of a “regular trade ministers dialogue” to strengthen the two countries’ trade relationship, Canada said May 14. The two sides discussed the importance of strengthening global supply chains to aid recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and ways to “enhance bilateral collaboration” through multilateral trade deals and the World Trade Organization.