Fifteen trade groups in the U.S. and the EU, led by a German machinery manufacturing organization, are asking the EU and the U.S. to settle their differences over American tariffs on steel and aluminum, and if they cannot by the end of the year, "at the very least, ensure that tariffs will not be reimposed if an agreement is not reached by the January 2024 deadline, even if this means that the deadline is extended." Technically, the two sides gave themselves an Oct. 31, 2023, deadline, but said that even if a deal was not reached by then, tariffs could not return until January 2024.
The Dominican Republic is beginning to receive Brazilian pork and beef products, which could affect U.S. exports, the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service said in a recent report. The agency said Brazil announced Aug. 9 that it had “opened the market for pork and beef products” in the D.R., and although Brazilian beef is subject to a 40% tariff and pork is subject to a 25% tariff, Brazilian meats have “proved to be extremely competitive” in the D.R. USDA said U.S. pork exports in particular are expected to “be fiercely challenged” by Brazilian pork shipments to the D.R. The U.S. “supplied 91 percent of total pork exports” to the D.R. last year (see 2302220019), USDA said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security added 49 entities, mostly from China, to the Entity List for shipping microelectronics to Russian consignees connected to the country’s defense sector. The entities are semiconductor companies, technology businesses, logistics companies and others, and also include companies based in Estonia, Finland, Germany, India, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the U.K.
Lydia Childre, former international trade and logistics senior associate at Venable, has joined boutique trade law firm Lighthill, the firm announced on LinkedIn. Childre worked at Venable for nearly two years after serving as a senior project adviser on Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs at the Commerce Department's International Trade Administration. Her practice at Lighthill will center on "national security and trade policy," the firm said. Lighthill was founded earlier this year by former Crowell & Moring attorney John Anwesen (see 2307050026).
House Republicans introduced a bill this week that would ask the Office of the Trade Representative and USDA to set up a task force to dismantle tariff and non-tariff barriers to agricultural exports. The legislation, called the Prioritizing Offensive Agricultural Disputes and Enforcement Act, is a companion to a Senate bill (see 2309280066).
World Trade Organization members, meeting Sept. 27-28, swapped views on how to ramp up transparency on other members' agricultural measures. Members of the Committee on Agriculture suggested "streamlining and simplifying the current export subsidy notification requirements" and mulled over a proposal from the committee chair to specifically address transparency, WTO said.
The European Parliament on Oct. 3 voted to pass the bloc's proposed Anti-Coercion Instrument, which will allow EU to impose countermeasures, including tariffs and other trade and investment restrictions, on third countries for economic coercion (see 2306060019).
An academic and a think tank scholar agreed that, despite the upcoming visit between the EU president and the U.S. president, they don't expect the global arrangement on steel and aluminum negotiations to conclude by their Oct. 31 deadline.
Australia will continue its case at the World Trade Organization against China's tariff treatment of wine imports and reject Beijing's proposal to curtail the issue to China's case against Australia's treatment of steel products. Australian Agriculture Minister Murray Watt told Australian Broadcasting Corp. that the government sees the cases as "entirely separate matters."
Senate Republicans last week reintroduced a bill that could require the U.S. to sanction all Russian state-owned companies. The bill, titled the Halting Enrichment of Russian Oligarchs and Industry Allies of Moscow’s Schemes to Leverage its Abject Villainy Abroad Act, would require the president to impose the sanctions 60 days after the legislation is enacted. “We have a moral duty, and it’s in our national security interest, to do everything in our power to limit any U.S. funds that enrich the pockets of the Russian regime,” said Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who reintroduced the bill alongside Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Rick Scott, R-Fla.