The U.S. and Ecuador signed a phase one trade agreement that goes beyond the World Trade Organization's Trade Facilitation Agreement with requirements for online publication of customs information and customs brokers requirements; duties and fees; electronic submission of customs declaration and phytosanitary certificates; a single window for import and export; and advanced rulings that cover classification, valuation, origin, and application of quotas. Ecuador also agreed to no penalties on minor errors, unless they're part of a consistent pattern, and a procedure to correct errors without penalties.
The Chemistry Industry Association of Canada, the American Chemistry Council and Asociación Nacional de la Industria Química are asking that Mexico join Canada and the U.S. Regulatory Cooperation Council to discuss regulatory conformity for chemicals. The three groups sent a letter on Dec. 4 to Mexico's economy minister, Canada's international trade minister, and the U.S. trade representative.
The International Trade Commission, in preparation for a possible global safeguard action against imported fresh or chilled strawberries and bell peppers, is beginning to monitor imports, and how they compete with domestic producers. The ITC said Dec. 2 that it would like to hear about growers' employment, profits, losses and production from 2016-2020. It also wants to know about the volume of imports in these tariff lines -- 0810.10, 0709.60.40.15, 0709.60.40.25, 0709.60.40.65, 0709.60.40.85 -- and what the principal source countries are. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer requested this action (see 2011060042), as he has been told that there's unfair competition with Mexican growers of those products (see 2009020016). Written submissions are due by 5:15 p.m. EST on Jan. 15, 2021.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said he has no substantive regrets about the policies his office has spearheaded that have raised tariffs on products from around the world. He said the next USTR will also have to prioritize American manufacturers over inexpensive imports, and treat China as a threat. “Those things are going to endure and people will continue to make progress on them,” he said during an evening webinar Nov. 19.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced Nov. 19 that U.S. and Ecuadoran officials talked trade and investment on Nov. 10, covering intellectual property, the environment, labor and agricultural trade. The two sides are working on a Protocol on Trade Rules and Transparency, and plan to conclude before the end of the year. The protocol would include provisions on trade facilitation, good regulatory practices, anti-corruption, and cooperation on small and medium-sized enterprises. A fourth meeting of the group of negotiators is planned to be in Ecuador next year.
In a Joe Biden administration, some tariffs can be unilaterally withdrawn, but others would require complex negotiations to sort out, said Peterson Institute for International Economics nonresident senior fellow Anabel Gonzalez. She asked PIIE Senior Fellow Chad Bown and former U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman where they think the new administration's energies should be directed, during a Nov. 18 webinar.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is making minor changes to product exclusions from Section 301 tariffs on products from China. The agency said it is amending an exclusion from List 2 tariffs for certain goods of subheading 8407.90.9010 so that it now refers to “Gas (natural or liquid propane (LP))” engines, instead of “Gasoline or liquid propane (LP)” engines. The change affects U.S. Note 20(o)(14), which provided for this exclusion for entries Aug. 23, 2018, through July 31, 2020, as well as U.S. Note 20(ggg)(4), which provides for the exclusion as extended to Dec. 31, 2020, USTR said in notices released Nov. 17. Subheading 8407.90.9010 covers “Gas (natural or LP) engines,” so the changes appear to align the exclusion with the language in the underlying tariff provision.
The Joe Biden transition teams have been announced. The team that is communicating with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the International Trade Commission and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency includes Democratic alumni; experts on trade, industrial policy and currency flows; and union critics of past free trade policy. The teams “are responsible for understanding the operations of each agency, ensuring a smooth transfer of power, and preparing for President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect [Kamala] Harris and their [C]abinet to hit the ground running on Day One,” the announcement said.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer asked the International Trade Commission to monitor the imports of strawberries and bell peppers so that an investigation of injury to domestic growers could be expedited. The letter to the ITC was posted Nov. 4. The USTR said in September that he would ask for such monitoring (see 2009020016).
The U.S. Trade Representative announced that Mexico “will establish a strict monitoring regime for exports of electrical transformer laminations and cores made of non-North American” grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES), and as a result, if there is to be a tariff or quota on electrical transformers or the laminations and cores that are used in them, Mexico will not be subject to it.