U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai gave testimony April 17 to the Senate Finance Committee regarding President Joe Biden’s 2024 trade policy agenda. She touched mainly on trade deal enforcement, U.S. exporters’ access to new markets and the USTR’s new stance on digital trade, though she also discussed issues such as forced labor and the upcoming legislation on the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching for the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Congress should approve tougher sanctions and import restrictions to stem the deadly and illegal flow of fentanyl into the U.S., the House Select Committee on China said in a new report April 16.
The Federal Maritime Commission's enforcement bureau is asking the agency's administrative law judge to fine major ocean carrier Mediterranean Shipping Company $63.2 million for violating U.S. shipping regulations. MSC used “overbroad” merchant clauses in its bills of lading, billed incorrect rates for certain containers and failed to publish certain container tariff rates, causing "obscurity" and "uncertainty" for shippers, the commission's Bureau of Enforcement, Investigations and Compliance said in an April 3 report.
Brazil recently added 108 items and removed 883 items from its list of foreign capital goods and information technology and telecommunications goods subject to duty-free treatment under its Ex-Tarifario regime, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported April 8. The added goods are classified in Harmonized System chapters 84, 85, 86, 87, 89 and 90.
American and Chinese officials discussed tariffs, export controls and market access issues during the April 2-5 first meetings of the U.S.-China Commercial Issues Working Group, both countries said in readouts after the talks.
China’s Ministry of Commerce criticized the Biden administration’s annual report released this week on foreign trade barriers, saying it “arbitrarily accused China of so-called ‘non-market’ policies and practices and barriers in agricultural products, data policies and other aspects.” A ministry spokesperson told reporters. in response to a question about the report, that “whether a country's trade policy constitutes a barrier should be judged based on whether it violates” World Trade Organization rules, according to an unofficial translation. “The United States should stop making false accusations against other countries, earnestly abide by WTO rules, and jointly safeguard a fair and just international trade order.”
The Federal Maritime Commission will be conducting network maintenance April 6, and said some of its systems will “experience intermittent outages” from 9 a.m. to noon EDT. Those include the FMC’s common carrier tariff and marine terminal operator schedule registration form; its application for a license as an ocean transportation intermediary; its Foreign Based Unlicensed Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier Registration; its Agreement Library; its eAgreements Filing System; and its List of FMC Licensed & Bonded OTIs. The FMC said its Service Contract Filing System, or SERVCON, will “remain available” throughout.
The annual report on foreign trade barriers, which covers intellectual property, agricultural exports and e-commerce, as well as all other goods and services, highlighted non-tariff barriers to ag exports, such as sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures that are not based on science, burdensome facility registration requirements, and barriers to poultry in countries affected by highly pathogenic avian influenza that are not justified by the risk, in the U.S. view.
PHILADELPHIA -- While the intersection of trade and climate change isn't yet massive in terms of policy, a CBP green trade official noted that climate change is already affecting the transport of goods.