At a hearing on Canada's role in helping the U.S. meet its climate goals, both Canadian politicians and senators talked about how they need to continue developing a partnership in critical minerals. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said it makes no sense "for us to so heavily invest in electric vehicles as a climate solution when that means increasing our reliance on China, because right now we’re not simultaneously increasing our mining, processing, and recycling capacity at the same rate in the United States.
A bipartisan group of governors from 18 states are asking the White House to accelerate the investigation into tariff circumvention for solar panel manufacturers in Southeast Asia. "As Governors, we strongly urge you and your administration to expedite a preliminary determination as well as an economic analysis of the impact retroactive actions would have on businesses, workers, and families."
Former Mexican ambassadors to the U.S. and a former U.S. ambassador to Mexico expressed anxiety that Mexico is not able to capitalize on the move to nearshore or friendshore for a variety of reasons.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said he will be introducing a bill called the Fixing Our Regulatory Mayhem Upsetting Little Americans (Formula) Act, which he says would fight the shortage of baby milk formula that has occurred after a plant shutdown over safety issues (see 2205130033). The bill would eliminate tariffs on infant formulas from some countries, provide a six-month waiver of tariffs on all imported formula, and would waive FDA labeling and nutrition requirements for formula from countries with similar approval standards as the United States. It also would prohibit FDA from recalling infant formula if labeling is the only reason for the recall.
The AFL-CIO told China bill conferees that renewing Trade Adjustment Assistance, making changes to trade remedies laws, creating outbound investment screening and removing Chinese exports from de minimis eligibility "should be included in any competitiveness package that purports to challenge China's increasing economic dominance."
While the Biden administration faces very little legal constraint to continuing the Section 301 tariffs on the vast majority of Chinese imports, trade experts at the Wiley firm said that the administration is under pressure for a variety of reasons to make a decision on whether they are going to change their approach to the tariffs. So far, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has reinstated fewer than 500 exclusions, either due to the COVID-19 pandemic or to a limited review, and has not offered to renew the bulk of the 2,129 exclusions that were granted during the previous administration.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is continuing to get criticism about the solar circumvention investigation, this time both from Republicans and Democrats, as she testified again in front of a Senate committee. She said that while she is not saying if the circumvention investigation will result in a finding, she wanted to address rhetoric that says the large majority of imported solar panels could be subject to a 200% tariff. On one company, it could actually be 270% (see 2205040015).
The top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee told reporters that while any changes to trade remedy laws need to be fully vetted, the argument that Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., made about the solar circumvention case (see 2205110072) resonates for him. Moran asked Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo if the agency needs Congress to expand the criteria that are considered before initiating an investigation. Raimondo has told senators that her hands are tied when they argue that it's absurd to damage the broad solar panel installation ecosystem on behalf of one small company. Currently, the Commerce Department is investigating whether solar panels made in Southeast Asia -- 80% of all imports -- should be subject to higher duties because they contain Chinese inputs. Chinese solar panels have been subject to antidumping and countervailing duties for 10 years; most firms' panels face a combined approximate 40% AD/CVD.
Members of the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee who spoke at the first meeting of that conference committee to find a compromise China competition package sounded more combative than cooperative.
The Biden administration's approach to changing Section 301 tariffs is "a work in progress," said Sarah Bianchi, a deputy U.S. trade representative, while at a May 11 National Council of Textile Organizations conference. Her comments, which avoided directly answering a question of whether the administration position is that tariffs on apparel are not strategic, came a day after President Joe Biden told reporters that administration officials are discussing whether any Section 301 tariffs should be lowered or removed, "and no decision has been made on it."