International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The text of a recent letter sent to the White House by Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Bob Casey, D-Pa., suggests that they have been told there will be reductions in Section 301 tariffs, and they said in the letter that they have serious concerns that these reductions "will enable China and other global competitors to resume their anti-competitive activities without consequences. While not the subject of interagency review, we share similar concerns about reductions in 232 tariffs, as well as related actions that would undermine American steel and aluminum producers as a result of negotiations with the European Union on the Global Arrangement on Sustainable Steel and Aluminum."
China is the country of origin for Lexmark printers imported from Mexico for both Section 301 trade duties and country of origin marking, CBP said in a recently released ruling. CBP found that the printer transports incorporated into the printer, which were made in China, were critical for the printer to feed the paper and to print copies, and were the component that imparted essential character, rather than the printed circuit board assemblies, which were assembled in Mexico.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Twenty of Florida's 28 representatives, led by Democrat Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Republican Mario Díaz-Balart, are calling on the House Ways and Means Committee to reinstate the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program, which expired almost three years ago.
President Joe Biden isn’t planning to bring up issues surrounding Section 301 tariffs in a planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in California on Nov. 15, a senior administration official said during a call with reporters last week. The official said the “question of economic and trade relationship” will be discussed, but the two leaders likely won’t delve into specifics.
The New Democrat Coalition, a caucus of pro-free trade Democrats, publicly released a letter to the president asking him to change course on trade, and work on traditional free trade agreements that lower tariffs and go through congressional approval. President Joe Biden has declined to work on any trade-liberalizing FTAs, saying that deals that can be negotiated more quickly that address supply chains, trade facilitation and other non-tariff barriers are more fit for today's challenges.
Eliminating permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) with China would “leave a lasting scar” on the U.S. economy, costing each U.S. household $11,000 in real income over the period 2024 to 2028 and reducing competition and efficiency over the long term, according to a report released by the U.S.-China Business Council on Nov. 9.
The chairman and top Democrat on the House Select Committee on China asked U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to consider launching a new Section 301 investigation for autos, in order to examine the harm that China's subsidization and technology transfer practices could do if Chinese electric vehicles start entering the U.S. in large numbers.
NEW YORK -- Apparel industry lobbyist David Spooner, speaking at the U.S. Fashion Industry Association annual conference, said employees of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative have indicated to him that the office "might actually sunset some of the tariffs," and that importers will be able to apply for a new product exclusion. "Hopefully this is the case," he added.