Coalition for a Prosperous America trade counsel Charles Benoit slammed Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, calling him "chief betrayer" for the trade title he was integral in shaping in the Senate China package, known as the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act or USICA. In an April 14 blog post, Benoit said that Crapo, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, is "laser focused on making imports as cheap and easy as possible." Benoit said that "USICA’s trade title is cancerous to its core -- akin to committing economic treason against American workers and industry." He said the Section 301 exclusion process requirements are the worst, but he also criticized the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill renewal, which would continue the ability of finished goods to qualify for unilateral tariff reduction or elimination. "If Republicans don’t abandon his betrayal of our nation, the GOP will spend another decade tarnished as the party of globalization, big tech, and the hollowing out of our country," Benoit wrote. Crapo's office declined to comment.
Section 301 (too broad)
Direct negotiations with China are, “at this point, unlikely to yield meaningful results” in curbing Beijing’s unfair trade practices, Emily Kilcrease, senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, told the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission in written testimony at a hearing April 14. “China has little incentive to commit to binding rules that will require structural changes to a system they believe works for their economic and political objectives,” she said.
A wide variety of trade groups told the Commerce Department that while they know the administration doesn't intend to tackle tariffs as part of its negotiations with Asian countries, they think offering to lower tariffs on U.S. goods would be the best way to get ambitious commitments in the region, and many said reconsidering the re-named Trans-Pacific Partnership is better than the conceived Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of April 4-10:
CBP created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 2209 on April 11 containing 15 Automated Broker Interface records and five Harmonized Tariff Schedule records, it said in a CSMS message. The update includes changes related to reinstated Section 301 tariff exclusions (see 2204050068), CBP said.
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 Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated April 7. The following headquarters rulings were modified recently, according to CBP:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce continues to argue against including rewrites to antidumping duty and countervailing duty laws, and calls for tariff relief, John Murphy, the lead advocate on trade for the group, blogged about their trade priorities.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said it would be good if the House and Senate could name their respective conferees to the committee that will aim to hash out a compromise between the two chambers' China packages. He said the next two weeks, when Congress will not be in Washington, could be put to good use by the members. But Hoyer suggested the House will wait until the Senate passes its motion to go to conference, and gives its negotiating instructions.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of March 28 - April 3: