A World Trade Organization dispute panel issued a report Aug. 24 concluding the panel's work following China and Australia's agreement regarding China's antidumping and countervailing duties on Australian barley.
Taiwan is requiring a certificate of origin and customs approval before certain Chinese-origin chipmaking equipment can be shipped to the U.S. The requirement will apply to shipments of certain “machine tools operated by laser processes, of a kind used solely or principally for the manufacture of printed circuits, printed circuit assemblies, parts” or “parts of automatic data processing machines,” Taiwan's Bureau of Foreign Trade announced this month.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's senior vice president for international policy said that when the trade ministers for the G-20 nations meet in India later this week, they should pledge not to hike tariffs, impose new export restraints or add digital trade barriers.
Mexico raised tariffs for imports of steel and other items from non-free trade agreement countries, the country announced Aug 16, according to an unofficial translation. The increased tariffs -- which could subject certain products to duties "of up to 25%," the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said -- will apply to merchandise from certain “strategic industries,” including steel, textiles, clothing, footwear, aluminum, tires, plastics, glass and ceramics.
The U.S. has initiated the formation of a dispute settlement panel over Mexico's decree to not allow biotech corn for tortillas and directive to the administration to gradually substitute genetically modified corn in processed foods and in animal feed.
A World Trade Organization dispute panel rejected China's claim that its retaliatory tariffs in response to Section 232 tariffs were justified because the U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs were a safeguard in disguise.
Lawmakers, business groups and think tanks gave a mixed bag of immediate feedback on the Biden administration’s executive order restricting outbound investments in China, with some applauding the government’s initial, cautious approach, and others expressing frustration that the restrictions don’t go far enough.
The World Trade Organization released panel reports covering two disputes between the U.S. and India after both countries came to a mutual solution. The countries in July told the Dispute Settlement Body they reached a solution in the disputes, including one disagreement over U.S. tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum and another involving India's imposition of additional duties on certain goods from the U.S. The mutually agreed solution came after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the White House in June and was announced in conjunction with the resolution of other spats between the nations at the WTO (see 2307190064).
China will rescind its antidumping and countervailing duties on imports of Australian barley, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced Aug. 4, according to an unofficial translation. The duties had “effectively blocked” Australian shipments of barley since the measures were first announced in 2020, Australia’s Trade Minister Don Farrell said in a statement welcoming the news. “The removal of duties is the result of work by government and industry to resolve this matter,” Farrell said. China said the duties were officially removed Aug. 5.
The U.S. needs to better protect agricultural technology from Chinese theft and push Beijing to reduce tariffs on U.S. crops, American farmers told lawmakers last week. Speaking during a panel in Iowa organized by the House Select Committee on China, at least one farmer said U.S. trade policy should focus more on securing free trade deals, which would help exporters become less reliant on China.