Mara Lee

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said in a March 12 tweet that President Donald Trump gave a commitment that Australian steel and aluminum will not be subject to tariffs. The path to get an exemption for the European Union, however, looks rocky. Trump tweeted on March 10: "The European Union, wonderful countries who treat the U.S. very badly on trade, are complaining about the tariffs on Steel & Aluminum. If they drop their horrific barriers & tariffs on U.S. products going in, we will likewise drop ours. Big Deficit. If not, we Tax Cars etc. FAIR!"

The U.S. trade representative's proposal to simplify bringing antidumping and countervailing duty complaints on produce could have several unintended consequences, according to Darci Vetter, a former chief agricultural negotiator at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. One of the U.S. proposals for NAFTA 2.0 is to allow producers in a certain region -- say, Florida tomato growers -- bring an AD/CVD complaint during their crop season, rather than requiring that 51 percent of all growers nationwide sign on to the complaint (see 1709130031). Vetter spoke March 8 at a Georgetown Law School event.

Raising the NAFTA rules of origin to 80 percent could be counterproductive, said House Ways and Means ranking member Sander Levin, D-Mich., whose district includes Detroit suburbs. "If you raise it to 80 percent, it may well be that more and more of the content will be made in Mexico," Levin said at a March 8 Georgetown Law School event. "As important as the rule of origin is, I've been trying ardently to elevate this issue of the total [trade] imbalance."

President Donald Trump announced that tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum will take effect on March 23, but the tariffs are not going to be as global as he suggested a week ago. Canada and Mexico's exports will not be subject to the tariffs while NAFTA negotiations continue, Trump said, and assuming the U.S. can get a deal "that's fair for our workers, fair for our farmers -- we love our farmers -- fair for our manufacturers," then those countries will be exempted permanently. "I have a feeling we're going to make a deal on NAFTA," he said during a March 8 signing ceremony.

The House Homeland Security Committee recommended a bill that requires the Department of Homeland Security to do a comprehensive review and security assessment of the Transportation Security Administration's Known Shipper program. The Air Cargo Security Act, H.R. 4176, asks if the program should be eliminated, "considering the full implementation of 100 percent screening." The House bill directs TSA to establish an air cargo security division with at least four employees, but says those people would have to come from within the agency's existing staffing.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said that Mexico, Canada and other countries may avoid the soon-to-be-announced tariffs on steel and aluminum. "There are potential carve-outs for Mexico and Canada based on national security, and possibly other countries as well based on that process," she said during a March 7 press briefing. President Donald Trump is still expected to "sign something by the end of the week," she said.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell broke his silence on steel and aluminum tariffs, which have sparked strong reactions from Republicans in both chambers since the surprise announcement last week (see 1803010029). "There is a lot of concern among Republican senators that this could metastasize into a larger trade war, and many of our members are discussing with the administration just how broad, how sweeping this might be," he said at a news conference March 6. He noted that President Donald Trump has suggested an exemption for Canada and Mexico might be tied to concessions in NAFTA renegotiations. "From a Kentucky point of view, NAFTA's been a big one, we've benefited from it in every way," the senator from Kentucky added. McConnell said that if the tariffs create disruption, "it could send our economy in the wrong direction."

CBP needs more authority to combat counterfeiters, an agency executive told the Senate Finance Committee March 6. But Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner in the Office of Trade, said it would take a few months of consultation with the private sector to say exactly what's needed. Ranking member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., pressed Smith for a deadline, and when she demurred, asked her to report back within 60 days. "I will do my best," she responded.

President Donald Trump tweeted March 5 that he won't exempt Mexico and Canada from steel and aluminum tariffs unless the U.S. gets its way at the NAFTA negotiating table. The tweets came on the last day of round 7 of the NAFTA talks. "NAFTA, which is under renegotiation right now, has been a bad deal for U.S.A. Massive relocation of companies & jobs. Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum will only come off if new & fair NAFTA agreement is signed. Also, Canada must treat our farmers much better. Highly restrictive. Mexico must do much more on stopping drugs from pouring into the U.S. They have not done what needs to be done. Millions of people addicted and dying," Trump wrote.

Canada's Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and Mexico's Economy Secretary Ildefonso Guajardo expressed optimism that their countries and the U.S. will be able to reach an agreement that can be sold to the public in all three countries, while U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer sounded a more cautionary note at a joint press conference at the end of the seventh round of negotiations in Mexico City. "I fear the longer we proceed the more political headwinds we will feel," Lighthizer said March 5.