An executive order to address supply chain challenges is not that easy to put into practice, since the private sector runs the supply chains, and companies are either reluctant to share their information with the government or may not know their own supply chains, according to a new GAO report.
Reps. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., and Dan Kildee, D-Mich., joined by two Republicans from sugar-growing states and one other Michigan Democrat, are calling for U.S. sugar policy reform, but only after major exporters end their government subsidies, which they say are unfair. They named Brazil, India, Thailand, Mexico and the EU as offenders. Their resolution puts the onus on the White House to suggest legislation on U.S. sugar policy once trading partners change their practices.
Many members are asking the Senate Finance Committee chairman about renewing trade preferences programs, he told International Trade Today. Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said he recognizes the importance of renewing the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program and the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill, but was evasive about whether he would support clean renewals, or would require that an extension of Trade Adjustment Assistance accompany the bills.
Fourteen Republican senators, led by Florida's Sen. Marco Rubio, wrote to the treasury secretary and secretary of state as the Cabinet officials traveled to China to meet with President Xi Jinping.
Four Republicans and two Democrats reintroduced the American Beef Labeling Act in the Senate, a bill that would direct the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to develop a World Trade Organization-compliant way to reinstate mandatory country of origin labeling for beef.
Four Republican senators introduced a bill to strip China of Permanent Normal Trade Relations status, requiring the president annually to consider China's eligibility under the Jackson-Vanik Amendment. The bill would expand that amendment, adding human rights and trade abuses as factors making a country ineligible for most favored nation tariffs. The bill was introduced by Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark.; Rick Scott, R-Fla.; J.D. Vance, R-Ohio; and Ted Budd, R-N.C.
While CBP rulings on country of origin show there are ways to keep China in the supply chain and still avoid Section 301 tariffs, Thompson Hine attorneys, during a webinar on what to expect in trade in 2023, said that if your product is auto parts, electric vehicle battery components, chemicals, pharmaceuticals or critical minerals, your chance of avoiding tariffs or other regulatory restrictions is not great.
After getting public pressure from House Democrats on labor practices at Manufacturas VU, a Michigan-headquartered supplier of interior automotive trims, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has opened a second rapid response request with Mexico about what's happening at the plant in Piedras Negras.
A lawyer, a lobbyist and a think tank scholar all agreed -- the Section 301 tariff review is unlikely to result in significant changes to the punitive tariffs on most Chinese goods.
Two U.S. readouts of the meetings between deputies from the three USMCA countries focused on a multitude of irritants and concerns the U.S. has with Canada and Mexico but didn't mention talks on how to resolve the U.S. violation of USMCA in its interpretation of the auto rules of origin (see 2301110058). Mexico and Canada did not issue their own readouts.