Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said April 17 she’s concerned that a host of upcoming elections around the world could fuel harmful sentiment against international trade.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai gave testimony April 17 to the Senate Finance Committee regarding President Joe Biden’s 2024 trade policy agenda. She touched mainly on trade deal enforcement, U.S. exporters’ access to new markets and the USTR’s new stance on digital trade, though she also discussed issues such as forced labor and the upcoming legislation on the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program.
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U.S. companies should expect more retaliation from China if the Bureau of Industry and Security adds more major Chinese technology firms to its Entity List this year, Paul Trulio, a China and technology policy expert, said during an event last week hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Trulio and other panelists also said it’s unclear exactly how a possible second Trump administration may tweak U.S. export control policy toward Beijing, but they said it’s possible former President Donald Trump, if reelected, could significantly increase restrictions on Chinese firms through potential financial sanctions and may pressure allies to do the same.
American and Chinese officials discussed tariffs, export controls and market access issues during the April 2-5 first meetings of the U.S.-China Commercial Issues Working Group, both countries said in readouts after the talks.
China’s Ministry of Commerce criticized the Biden administration’s annual report released this week on foreign trade barriers, saying it “arbitrarily accused China of so-called ‘non-market’ policies and practices and barriers in agricultural products, data policies and other aspects.” A ministry spokesperson told reporters. in response to a question about the report, that “whether a country's trade policy constitutes a barrier should be judged based on whether it violates” World Trade Organization rules, according to an unofficial translation. “The United States should stop making false accusations against other countries, earnestly abide by WTO rules, and jointly safeguard a fair and just international trade order.”
The EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council likely will continue if former President Donald Trump is reelected, European Commission officials said at a briefing April 3. The sixth TTC meeting takes place April 4-5 in Leuven, Belgium. It's the last of this political cycle, given U.S. and European elections later in the year. The EC doesn't expect too much disruption of its work, which includes deliverables on 6G, platforms, standardization, artificial intelligence and quantum computing, officials said.
PHILADELPHIA -- While the intersection of trade and climate change isn't yet massive in terms of policy, a CBP green trade official noted that climate change is already affecting the transport of goods.
A World Trade Organization dispute panel found that certain elements of Australian antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings on wind towers, deep drawn stainless steel sinks and railway wheels from China violate WTO commitments. Issuing its findings March 26, the panel recommended that Australia bring its measures into conformity with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994.
China opened a case at the World Trade Organization against the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act's rules for electric vehicle subsidies and "other measures," the nation's Ministry of Commerce announced March 26, according to an unofficial translation.