The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is accepting comments through June 23 on which countries should be given trade preferences under the African Growth and Opportunity Act. The agency released its notice of the annual AGOA eligibility review May 10, and said no in-person hearing will be held because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The AGOA review subcommittee will send questions to commenters, with replies, further questions and responses continuing through the summer. Comments may be submitted at Regulations.gov, in docket USTR–2022-0004.
Sidley lawyer Ted Murphy says he doesn't expect a review of Section 301 tariffs to lead to a policy change on the tariffs, which cover about $300 billion worth of Chinese imports annually. He said that even though a review of the tariffs has to evaluate how effective the actions have been, and has to analyze how the tariffs have affected consumers, "if it ultimately concludes that the additional duties have been only mildly effective and/or have had a negative impact on U.S. interests (businesses and/or consumers), there is no requirement that the USTR take any action. As a result, we do not think that this effort is likely to present a meaningful opportunity for change." Murphy wrote those sentences in bold, for emphasis. Still, he said it is possible, given the messages from some corners of the administration that goods such as bicycles or apparel should not be facing higher tariffs, that "additional duties on certain non-strategic consumer goods may be lifted."
At a joint press conference in Ottawa, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Canadian trade minister Mary Ng did not reveal any agreements on trade irritants, but emphasized that they can work out their differences with the trust they share and the strong relationship between the neighboring countries. It was Tai's first trip to Canada since becoming USTR, and she had a full schedule planned, meeting with small businesses, labor groups, and touring a General Motors facility in Markham, Ontario.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said that she and World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala talked about how to "break the deadlock" on intellectual property issues at the WTO so that as many people as possible can get effective vaccines "as fast as possible." The readout, which said Deputy USTR and Chief of Mission, Geneva, Maria Pagan, and Deputy Director-General Angela Ellard were also in the meeting, said that Tai is continuing to engage with members of Congress and stakeholders. Congress is divided on the question of relaxing IP for coronavirus, with many Republicans saying a permissive trade-related intellectual property rights [TRIPS] waiver would undermine the medical research that brought vaccines to market in record time.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is accepting nominations for members to serve on any of 15 Industry Trade Advisory Committees (ITACs) for a new four-year “charter term” ending in February 2026, the agency said in a notice. ITACs, under a program run jointly by USTR and the Commerce Department, “provide detailed policy and technical advice, information, and recommendations” on trade barriers, negotiation of trade agreements and the implementation of existing trade agreements affecting industry sectors,” the notice says. ITACs also “perform other advisory functions relevant to U.S. trade policy matters,” it says. There’s no deadline for applications, as the program “will accept nominations throughout the charter term,” it says.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is seeking applications from people interested in serving on the Intergovernmental Policy Advisory Committee on Trade. Nominations for a four-year term should be submitted by May 4.
The top trade official on the European Commission said that Russia's barbaric invasion of Ukraine revealed how important it was that he and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai "spent last year fixing some aspects of U.S.-EU relations," and then moved to a forward-looking agenda with the Trade and Technology Council. Tai, who spoke remotely to the Brussels business audience hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in the EU on March 24, called EC Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis a good friend.
The top trade official in the British government and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said they want to do even more trade and investment between the two countries, even as a free-trade agreement is not the end goal. Secretary of State for International Trade Anne-Marie Trevelyan had hoped that the Biden administration would continue the free trade negotiations started during the Trump administration, but that has not happened. Marjorie Chorlins, who leads the U.S.-U.K. Business Council at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, also spoke at the March 21 plenary in Baltimore, saying the business community strongly supports more U.S.-U.K. economic cooperation.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, which is leading negotiations with Asian countries on a "fair and resilient trade" pillar in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, published a Federal Registernotice requesting comments on what the U.S. should prioritize under that rubric. It also said it welcomes comments on which countries should be included in the IPEF. Comments are due by April 11.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said March 4 she discussed global steel and aluminum excess capacity with Bahrain’s Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism Zayed Al-Zayan. Bahrain has the largest aluminum smelter outside China, and some of its products have been subject to American trade remedies.