Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., one of the original advocates for narrowing the authority of the executive branch to impose national security tariffs or quotas, has once again introduced a bipartisan bill to reform the legislation that delegated that authority. Toomey, joined by Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., six other Democrats and 10 other Republicans, said the prior administrations abused Section 232 tariffs "to protect favored industries, which has resulted in economic disruption, damage to U.S. relationships with our allies, and harmful retaliatory tariffs on American farmers and manufacturers."
One measure of how much more common detentions over forced labor have become is that the withhold release order affecting cotton grown in Xinjiang has led to either the detention or diversion of more than 1,000 shipments, said Nate Herman, American Apparel and Footwear Association vice president for policy. Herman said the value of the garments or textiles in those shipments added up to hundreds of millions of dollars, "probably over a billion dollars at this point and only a handful of them have been released, maybe a dozen, maybe a little bit more."
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is seeking comments on whether it should reinstate hundreds of Section 301 product exclusions that expired either late last year or early this year. The public docket at https://comments.USTR.gov will open Oct. 12, and parties can submit comments until Dec. 1. The agency is asking that commenters not only weigh in on specific products, but also on how long the exclusions should last.
The office of the U.S. Trade Representative plans to restart a Section 301 tariff exclusions process, and has no immediate plans to remove any of the Section 301 tariff targets now that its comprehensive China review is over. However, a government official who spoke on background during an Oct. 3 call with reporters said, "We also want to make sure to align existing tariffs to those [Biden-Harris administration] priorities."
The rollout of the new China trade policy looks a lot like the old China policy, with a new chance at Section 301 exclusions and all the tariffs remaining for now. U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai suggested during the speech on the results of the China policy review that she doesn't have much hope for getting more structural reform that the phase one China agreement did not secure.
The Coalition for a Prosperous America wrote to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, suggesting that tariff rate quotas on European aluminum should be what replaces the 10% tariff on aluminum from the European Union. "We cannot return to the unhealthy belief that ad hoc anti-dumping or countervailing duties are sufficient for these vital sectors. Managing import penetration in aluminum, in particular, remains vital," the group wrote.
When the leaders of the Congressional Steel Caucus, members of Congress who advocate for steelmakers, start talking about how to wind down Section 232 tariffs on European steel, you know that the 25% tariff on steel from the European Union is unlikely to continue.
A Section 301 investigation into illegal timber trade in Vietnam will result in no tariffs on Vietnamese goods, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said Oct. 1. Many stakeholders argued against a punitive approach on the issue (see 2011160027), including groups that fight the harvest of rare wood, such as the Sustainable Furnishings Council and the Environmental Investigation Agency.
The U.S. Trade Representative announced that Vietnam has committed to keep illegally traded timber out of the supply chain, so no trade action is warranted as a result of the Section 301 investigation. Vietnam agreed to improve customs enforcement at the border with high-risk source countries, and to collaborate on enforcement with those countries, in addition to other verification and seizure practices.
A trade expert who once worked in Hong Kong said the joint statement issued after the U.S.-European Union Trade and Technology Council inaugural meeting shows that prospects for a trans-Atlantic united front against China aren't promising.