The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Chamber of Commerce in each of the countries that have signed onto the Indo-Pacific Economic Forum issued a joint statement strongly supporting the IPEF but also suggesting that tariff reductions be considered. "That is the best way to achieve the most meaningful benefits for American businesses, workers, and consumers," they said June 23.
Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., said he talked with Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi, and she has agreed to press India to reduce its pecan tariffs. Ossoff said pecan farmers have told him India's tariffs are a problem. "Responding to the needs of Georgia farmers, Sen. Ossoff raised objections to India’s high tariffs on pecans with India’s Ambassador to the U.S Taranjit Singh Sandhu in two separate engagements," Ossoff's office said in a press release.
The U.K. announced the start of free trade agreement negotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Council. Trade with the six GCC countries -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- totals over $40.7 billion. The Gulf nations' oil and gas reserves won't be part of any trade deal, though manufacturing and the supply chain for that key sector will be an element of the talks, Reuters reported June 22.
Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, in a bid to break the impasse in negotiations around the trade title in the China package, introduced a bill that would renew trade adjustment assistance and pass a limited trade promotion authority that could only be used for a free trade agreement with the U.K.
Bangladesh recently increased duties on 135 imported products, including a range of consumer goods and industrial products, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported June 20. The country raised duties from 5% to 20% on various cosmetic items, including sunscreens, perfumes and shaving products, the report said. A 20% duty also applies to household items, including certain furniture and kitchen appliances, some of which were previously subject to duties of 3%-5%. Duties on fresh and dried fruit also increased from 3% to 20%, the report said. Bangladesh also increased duties on vehicle engines, oxygen, nitrogen, argon and “primary medical care items,” which are now subject to a 15% duty, and tires and construction raw materials, which increased from a 3% duty to a 10% duty.
A Federal Maritime Commission proposal that would require container documentation to include the names of all non-vessel operating common carriers in a shipping transaction would create too large of a burden on industry, two logistics companies said in comments this month. One company said it wouldn’t be able to comply with the change, forcing it to regularly violate the regulation.
Trade ministers meeting at the World Trade Organization in Geneva agreed to a partial solution to harmful subsidies for fishing fleets, an intellectual property waiver for Covid vaccines, and to allow sale of commodities to the World Food Program even if the product is otherwise subject to export restrictions. The countries that attended the ministerial conference also agreed to extend the moratorium on tariffs on electronic transmissions.
The U.K.'s Department for International Trade updated its guidance on duty suspensions and tariff quotas. The updated guidance walks traders through the duty suspension application process for applications made in the 2021 applications window.
Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said that he wants to get the conference negotiations done for the China package, because the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) has "some important trade aspects."
India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade made changes affecting traders seeking to secure tariff-free trading of crude soya bean oil and crude sunflower oil for fiscal years 2022-23 and 2023-24 under India's tariff-rate quotas. Interested parties must now submit details of turnover for processing of crude edible oils in the last three financial years. Further, imports made under the TRQs are for domestic processing and consumption only, the DGFT said. The 2022-23 TRQs will be valid for clearance of import for a one-year period or until June 30, 2023, whichever is earlier. The 2023-24 TRQ will be valid until March 31, 2024. Unused quantities will be deducted from their proposed allocations during the next TRQ period. The TRQs are for 20 Lakh MT of crude soya bean oil and 20 Lakh MTs of crude sunflower oil.