The Market Choice Act, which would end fuel taxes while imposing a carbon tax, was reintroduced in the House of Representatives this month by Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and Salud Carbajal, D-Calif. The bill, an acronym for "Modernizing America with Rebuilding to Kickstart the Economy of the Twenty-first Century with a Historic Infrastructure-Centered Expansion Act," would require domestic producers to pay a price for carbon, and also would place a tariff on imports if those countries don't have equivalent carbon taxes. It would provide a rebate to manufacturing exporters and sectors that process ores, soda ash and phosphate. It wouldn't cover mining and fossil fuel extraction.
The EU's new anti-coercion instrument entered into force Dec. 27, the European Commission announced. The tool allows the bloc to impose tariffs and place other trade restrictions in response to economic coercion (see 2310230012). The commission said it will take stakeholders' views into account when imposing retaliatory action, adding that any actions taken under the tool "are consistent with the EU's international obligations and fully grounded in international law."
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In a report on how Russia is living up to its World Trade Organization commitments -- a report produced every other year for Congress -- the U.S. trade representative wrote that Russia has expanded import substitution to state-owned enterprises and private enterprises, including a ban on imported equipment.
The European Council on Dec. 21 agreed to give European and British electric vehicle makers until Dec. 31, 2026, to comply with the local content requirements for EVs and batteries under the EU-U.K. Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the council said. The more stringent rules of origin, along with up to a 10% tariff on goods that failed to meet the requirements, were set to take effect Jan. 1. The bloc proposed the extension earlier this month, saying the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and foreign subsidies led to a slower scaling-up of the EU battery industry than it had expected (see 2312080074).
The EU and Kenya on Dec. 18 officially signed an Economic Partnership Agreement, which will provide duty-free EU market access for Kenyan products and gradually open the Kenyan market to EU goods (see 2312120014). The deal takes effect after it's approved by the European Parliament and the two parties have alerted one another of the "completion of their internal legal procedures," the European Council said.
Women who advocate for businesses in the EU and in the U.S. complained that while the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council is better than nothing, it has neglected the "trade" part of its title.
Turkish duties on a host of U.S. products in retaliation for President Donald Trump's Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs violate World Trade Organization commitments, a WTO dispute panel ruled Dec. 19. The panel said the duties violate articles I and II of the 1994 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and also found that the Section 232 duties are not "safeguards."
The U.S. will grant new Section 232 exclusions for steel and aluminum imports from the EU as part of a deal that will also extend the tariff rate quotas on EU steel and aluminum and avoid EU retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports.
After consecutive record-setting years, USDA said expectations for 2023 U.S. food exports to South Korea should be “tempered” because the country’s “modest” economic growth, declining exports and weakened technology sector have reduced consumer spending. But the December report also said the 2024 outlook is “more positive,” adding that it expects a combination of low tariffs, rising South Korean consumer income and Korea’s “well-established knowledge of American products” will help the U.S. remain the “top agricultural supplier into the market for many years to come.” The agency said U.S. food exporters should “regularly monitor South Korea’s economic situation and food trends and, where possible, improve on price offerings to counter product competition.”