Rep. Rick Larsen, a pro-trade Democrat from Washington state, told an audience at the Washington International Trade Association that Congress views China primarily as a strategic competitor, though members recognize there are areas of cooperation as well. He said that 10 years ago, the view from Washington was the reverse.
A day before high-level trade talks with Taiwan (see 2106300009), Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Mark Warner, D-Va., led a letter asking U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to reconvene the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) meetings, and requested that she then “take steps to begin laying the groundwork for negotiation of a free trade agreement (FTA), or other preliminary agreement, with Taiwan.” Forty other senators signed.
The rules for forced labor documentation will likely become as detailed as the rules on conflict mineral reporting, Angelica Tsakiridis, a senior manager at Deloitte, said July 1 at a virtual conference hosted by the American Importers and Exporters Association. CBP has been working on a rulemaking around forced labor for years (see 1805100026), but it remains to be seen whether documentation requirements will be included.
Americans for Free Trade is urging the House to pass legislation that mirrors the Senate Trade Act of 2021, especially the language that asks the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to reinstate the Section 301 exclusion process. CBP has collected more than $92 billion in tariffs on Chinese products since the trade war began, the business coalition “united against tariffs” said in a June 30 letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
The Federal Trade Commission voted 3-2 July 1 to adopt a rule that would penalize marketers who improperly use Made in USA claims on labels. The FTC will be able to seek civil penalties of up to $43,280 per violation, said an agency news release. The commissioners in the majority issued a statement that said in part, "Importantly, this is a 'restatement rule,' which affirms longstanding guidance and legal precedent with respect to Made in USA labels -- thereby imposing no new obligations on manufacturers and sellers."
Rep. Jodey Arrington, a Republican on the Ways and Means Committee, was cool to fellow Texas delegation member Sen. John Cornyn's proposal to study the possibility of allowing goods made in foreign-trade zones to be considered originating under USMCA.
The Wall Street Journal reported July 1 that the 20 largest economies in the world, including India, one of the countries that has proposed a digital services tax, have agreed to the U.S. proposal that all companies would pay at least 15% corporate income taxes in every country where they operate. The Biden administration hopes that this agreement will be paired with an agreement to roll back DSTs, which Americans say are discriminatory toward large American companies. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has identified hundreds of products that could face U.S. tariffs if a DST solution is not found. The top Republican on the House tax-writing committee, Ways and Means, expressed dismay at the news. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, issued a statement that said this is a “global minimum tax structure that favors foreign-headquartered companies and workers over American ones. This is a dangerous economic surrender that sends U.S. jobs overseas, undermines our economy, and strips away our U.S. tax base. “Further, any agreement at the [Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development] must result in immediate repeal of all existing digital taxes and prevent any new digital taxes by the EU or others.”
Taiwan and the U.S. had their first official meeting under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement since 2016, and Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Terry McCartin praised Taiwan for improving its enforcement of trade secrets protections, and its plan to change its medical device approval process.
Government representatives who oversee labor issues from Canada, the U.S. and Mexico held the first meeting of the USMCA Labor Council, and discussed both the implementation of Mexico's labor law reform and a complaint about the treatment of Mexican migrant workers in the U.S., and how abuses of migrant workers could be avoided in the future, whether through education and oversight through U.S. government agencies, or a better way of running seasonal work visas.
The top trade officials in the U.S., Canada and Mexico gathered virtually to celebrate the one-year anniversary of USMCA, which is July 1, with Canadian and Mexican ministers emphasizing the worth of integrated supply chains and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai emphasizing the elements of USMCA that protect workers in the region and around the world. Tai said at a Wilson Center program June 30, "A good next step in this increased cooperation can be on the issue of forced labor. The USMCA includes a strong obligation to prohibit the importation of goods produced with forced labor. Working together to address this critical economic and moral issue would send a powerful message to the world."