Applications to become a panelist on a state-to-state dispute settlement panel for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or on a specialized labor panel, will be due by April 20, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a notice.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is requesting comments on whether the set of tariff exclusions on Chinese imports on Section 301 List 1 that are set to expire June 4 (see 1906030038) should last another year, it said in a notice. The agency will start accepting comments on the extensions on April 1. The comments are due by April 30, it said. Each exclusion will be evaluated independently. The focus of the evaluation will be whether, despite the first imposition of these additional duties in July 2018, the particular product remains available only from China. The companies are required to post a public rationale.
Field hearings scheduled in Florida and Georgia in early April by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Agriculture Department and the Commerce Department on competition from produce imported from Mexico (see 2003050063) are being postponed due to measures to control the coronavirus pandemic, USTR said in a notice. Comments will continue to be accepted, it said. “The original deadline for written submissions -- March 26, 2020 -- has been waived,” the announcement said, and the docket will remain open until the next deadline is set by notification.
The U.S. Trade Representative notified Congress March 17 that it will be negotiating a trade agreement with Kenya. Negotiations cannot begin for at least 90 days. “Under President Trump’s leadership, we look forward to negotiating and concluding a comprehensive, high-standard agreement with Kenya that can serve as a model for additional trade agreements across Africa. Kenya is an important regional leader, a strategic partner of the United States, and a commercial hub that can provide substantial opportunities for U.S. trade and investment,” USTR Robert Lighthizer said in a statement.
China accounted for 26% of imports of medical devices, protective gear and other supplies needed to fight the coronavirus epidemic before the trade war began, according to a recent paper by Peterson Institute for International Economics economist Chad Bown -- and after tariffs were put on the goods, those imports fell by 16%.
Correction: The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative didn't include surgical masks or subheading 6307.90.9889 in the first group of Section 301 tariffs, but did include subheading 4015.19.0510 (see 2003060042). Multiple product descriptions, including surgical masks, under subheading 6307.90.9889 were included in new exclusions released March 13 (see 2003130010).
The U.S. should “develop a targeted list of products for which Section 301 tariffs and retaliatory tariffs can be suspended or removed to spur economic growth and job creation,” the National Association of Manufacturers said in a set of recommendations for the federal government response to the COVD-19 outbreak. NAM also suggested “temporary duty waivers and expedited entry procedures to facilitate cross-border trade in health care items” and extensions of tariff relief programs “to allow import of components used in U.S. manufacturing of coronavirus-needed products.” The U.S. should also begin negotiations with other countries to reduce tariffs on items needed for the response and create an “interagency initiative to identify and reduce trade and regulatory barriers to U.S. exports of products used in a pandemic response.”
An increase in the quantity of solar cells allowed a low rate under Section 201 safeguard duties would help U.S. solar module producers, though it could cost a U.S. company emerging from bankruptcy should it opt to restart production of solar cells, the International Trade Commission said in a report released March 6. As proposed by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in December (see 1912200013), an increase in the TRQ threshold from 2.5 gigawatts to 4, 5 or 6 gigawatts would “likely result in a substantial increase in U.S. module producers’ production, capacity utilization, and employment,” the ITC said. “This is because U.S. module producers would gain expanded access to imported cells at lower prices (due to application of safeguard duties on fewer cells) during the remaining two years of the safeguard measure,” it said. While Panasonic, the only current producer of solar cells in the U.S., would likely not be affected, Suniva, which exited bankruptcy in March 2019, could see reduced profits under the higher safeguard if it starts making solar cells again, the ITC said.
The U.S. Trade Representative's annual report on China's compliance with World Trade Organization commitments details many of the same problems noted in previous years' reports, but they wrote that this year “we focus on the positive outcomes to date of the Administration’s new and more effective strategy for engaging China, which has led to the signing of an historic trade agreement with China,” while also talking about “the important issues that remain to be addressed in our trade relationship with China.”
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Commerce Department and U.S. Department of Agriculture will hold a public hearing in Florida April 7 and in Georgia April 9 on “foreign trade policies that may be harming American growers of seasonal and perishable produce.” Witnesses are invited to tell “how the Trump Administration can support these producers and redress any unfair harm.” The details of how to apply to testify or submit written testimony are here. Requests to appear at either of the two hearings are due March 19. Written comments or hearing statements are due March 26. The April 7 hearing begins at 9 a.m. at the Grimes Family Agricultural Center, 2508 W. Oak Ave., Plant City, Florida. The April 9 hearing begins at 9 a.m. at Rainwater Conference Center, 1 Meeting Place, Valdosta, Georgia.