The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative clarified that 80 products covered by COVID-19-related Section 301 exclusions (see 2109270031) are also part of the broader question of extending formerly granted Section 301 exclusions (see 2110070041). The office said that this review is based on different factors than the pandemic-related extension, "and may result in different effective dates. Accordingly, interested persons that commented on a product pursuant to the notice on extending exclusions for COVID-related products may also wish to submit comments for the product pursuant to the notice on possible reinstatement of China Section 301 exclusions."
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai has asked the International Trade Commission to launch an investigation into the effects of goods and services trade on U.S. workers by skill, wage, gender, race and age, and not just through economic or sociological research, but also through roundtable discussions with disadvantaged community members, unions, minority-owned businesses, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities, civil rights organizaitons and think tanks.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, framing the resolution of the Section 232 tariffs as being careful to guard against transshipment of Chinese steel and preventing import surges, is calling for an end to the tariffs on the European Union, Japan and Korea as quickly as possible. The organization put out a brief this week noting that the cost of steel in the U.S is spiking, and said, "a 'worker-centric' trade policy needs to take into account the U.S. workers employed in manufacturing industries that depend on steel as an input. These workers outnumber those in steel production by approximately 45-to-1, and these much larger industries are badly harmed by the higher costs and shortages imposed by tariffs."
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said she talked about "ongoing efforts to address global overcapacity in the steel and aluminum sectors and shared challenges posed by non-market economies" when she met with her European Union counterpart on the sidelines of the G-20 meeting in Sorrento, Italy. The EU did not issue its own readout of the meeting, but Valdis Dombrovskis tweeted, "Met [the] USTR, Ambassador Tai, to continue our discussions on finding a settlement on the Trump steel & aluminium tariffs #232. The work continues." He has previously said that an agreement on Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum has to be reached by early November in order to prevent retaliatory tariffs from doubling on Dec. 1. Those retaliatory tariffs have hurt the export of American spirits.
The White House has sent to the Senate the nomination of Elaine Trevino to be chief agricultural negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (see 2109140047).
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued a request for comments on the possible reinstatement of certain exclusions in the Section 301 investigation of China’s acts, policies and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property and innovation. The notice, which reiterates previously published details about where and when to petition, will be published in the Federal Register Oct. 8. Comments may be submitted in writing online starting Oct. 12, and must be submitted no later than Dec. 1 to be assured of consideration.
A trade expert who once worked in Hong Kong said the joint statement issued after the U.S.-European Union Trade and Technology Council inaugural meeting shows that prospects for a trans-Atlantic united front against China aren't promising.
If the International Trade Commission rules that import restrictions on solar panels and their components are still warranted to prevent serious injury to domestic manufacturers (see 2108120045), the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative wants to receive input on whether it's appropriate to extend the safeguard measure, and if so, at what levels. Parties may also participate in a public hearing. The deadline for written comments is Dec. 15, as is the deadline for a request to testify at the hearing. Responses to written comments are due by Dec. 22, and the hearing will be held Jan. 4, 2022.
The domestic textile industry, which employs about a half million people and a million less than 25 years ago, was the focus of U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai's trip this week to factories in the Carolinas. Tai met with textile executives and leaders in the National Council of Textile Organizations trade group, and, according to a summary of the Sept. 23 meeting, she said the administration wants to increase trade between the U.S. and El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. One of the factories was a thread factory -- in the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement, unlike in NAFTA, thread must be from either the U.S. or one of the CAFTA-DR countries.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said that she's still evaluating how a free trade agreement with Great Britain "could support the Biden-Harris Administration’s broader Build Back Better agenda," in a readout of her first meeting, on Sept. 20, with the new top trade official for the United Kingdom, Anne-Marie Trevelyan. Tai said she does want to deepen bilateral trade ties with the U.K. The readout also said there needs to be a durable solution to implement the trade protocols between Northern Ireland, which is technically no longer in the European Union, and Ireland, so that peace in Northern Ireland is preserved. As part of Brexit, the U.K. agreed to allow Northern Ireland to stay in the Customs Union of the EU so that the soft border between Northern Ireland and Ireland could remain, but that means that part of the U.K. is essentially a foreign country for trade purposes, so the U.K. has tried to find wiggle room in the treatment of Northern Ireland goods.