A former negotiator on the phase one China deal, Clete Willems, said his goal in publishing a report on how to reform the World Trade Organization is to move the conversation beyond how to restore the status quo in Geneva.
Brazil's president, Jair Bolsonaro, told a business audience that his country and the U.S. have completed a trade facilitation agreement, an agreement on best regulatory practices, and an anti-corruption agreement. He said these treaties would “slash red tape and bring about even more growth to our bilateral trade with beneficial effects to the flow of investments as well.”
The Coalition for a Prosperous America, a group allied with the Trump approach to trade, wrote to the heads of the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee to argue that a clean renewal of the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program neither serves American economic interests nor furthers economic development in eligible countries. “The primary advocates for GSP are foreign countries, importers and multinationals seeking to buy the lowest priced products from the lowest wage countries,” the CPA wrote Oct 15. “Those interests are trying to avoid buying from American suppliers who hire American workers and comply with American labor and environmental laws.”
Even though companies that make cars in North America are going to have to change sourcing to meet stricter rules of origin under USMCA, the director of international public policy for Toyota and the head of Canada's auto parts trade group say they expect carmakers to do so to keep the tariff benefits. Toyota's Leila Afas noted that automakers don't have to comply with trade agreements to import, but said, “I believe many will choose to comply with USMCA.” Afas and others discussed USMCA issues during an Oct. 14 webinar hosted by Rice University.
Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, the top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, said it's a lot of work to get through the nearly 2,700 petitions that the International Trade Commission says are worthy of tariff relief through the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill.
The Washington counsel for the U.S. Fashion Industry Association told members that it's not time yet to think about moving production out of Vietnam, in light of the recently announced Section 301 investigation into currency manipulation in that country (see 2010050036).
President Donald Trump signed a bill that extends provisions of the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act into law on Oct. 10, 10 days after the act expired. The CBTPA, which allows tariff-free imports of garments made with U.S. fabric and yarn inputs, will be in effect for 10 years. The renewal will apply retroactively to the day it expired. “CBP is programming its systems to allow CBTPA claims for entries made after September 30, 2020,” a CBP spokesperson said. “CBP will issue a CSMS message in coming days with the programming completion date and instructions for making a claim for entries entered after the aforementioned date.”
The World Trade Organization announced that the European Union is entitled to hike tariffs on nearly $4 billion in U.S. goods due to the trade distorting effects of tax breaks for Boeing. The tariffs -- the levels of which have not been announced -- are not to go into effect immediately, but could affect civil aircraft, helicopters, tractors, chemicals, hazelnuts, wines, liquor, cotton and other products, according to a preliminary list of targets released last year.
CMA CGM, American President Lines, APL, and ANL Singapore are asking the Federal Maritime Commission for permission to retroactively apply service contract rates and terms to shipments received on or after Sept. 27 for a period of 60 days (see 2010090022). Their petition also is asking for the ability to retroactively apply tariff rates communicated to its customers but that have not been published because of “major system impacts due to the recent cyber-attack.” The FMC is asking for public comments on this request through Oct. 15.
Former House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, told reporters that as the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative considers whether Vietnam should be punished for currency manipulation (see 2010050036), he should rely on a “bipartisan definition of currency manipulation” described in the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (TFTEA). Brady, who was speaking to reporters on a teleconference Oct. 7, noted that TFTEA was one of the first bills he shepherded through the committee when he took the gavel.