A week after the renewal of the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act passed the Senate, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signed the bill, and on Oct. 8, she sent it to the White House, a House aide said. Even if the president does not sign it, the bill will become law in 10 days. The trade program expired Sept. 30, but renewal legislation was passed by the House and Senate in recent weeks (see 2010010039).
The conclusion of whether imported blueberries are damaging domestic producers won't come until February, and it's not clear whether a Biden administration would impose tariff rate quotas or tariffs on blueberries from Mexico or Canada if the International Trade Commission recommends that an intervention is warranted.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said a bill that would eliminate all tariffs on personal protective equipment could be added to a spending bill, tax extenders, or another coronavirus relief bill, if there is one during the lame duck session. He said he would argue that Sen. Pat Toomey's bill (see 2010060044) should ride along on one of those bills.
Americans for Prosperity is praising a bill introduced by Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., which would eliminate most favored nation (MFN) tariffs and Section 301, Section 232 or any other punitive additional duty on 87 tariff lines that cover personal protective equipment. If the bill were to become law, it would eliminate tariffs through the end of 2022. “In a time of crisis, our leaders should be doing everything possible to remove barriers which diminish ease of access to those things that will keep us safe, preserve our livelihoods, and save American lives. With COVID-19 still looming and flu season fast approaching, we applaud Senator Toomey for introducing this measure to correct misguided policies which would impose tariffs on goods so directly linked to the wellbeing of American families and workers during these unprecedented times,” said Brent Gardner, chief government affairs officer at AFP. He urged Congress to take up the bill, which was first introduced just before the August recess.
Two Democrats and a Republican introduced a resolution that opposes including apparel, textile and footwear products under the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program, because of their fears that expanding GSP product eligibility would hurt Caribbean, African and Latin American apparel producers. Rep. Albio Sires, D-N.J., posted a press release Oct. 6 saying that keeping apparel out of GSP works to strengthen Western Hemisphere supply chains and confront “a rising China.”
A Brazilian government official said that a U.S.-Brazil agreement that covers trade facilitation, best regulatory practices and anti-corruption chapters is in legal scrub, and that should be done by mid-October. “We hope to have them signed this month,” said Yana Dumaresq, assistant deputy minister for foreign trade and international affairs. Joseph Semsar, the lead negotiator from the Commerce Department on this agreement, said that the two administrations are aligned, and “this is a unique opportunity to get things done that seemed unattainable.”
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is considering sanctions against Vietnam for importing illegal lumber to use in wood furniture and for currency manipulation that it suspects is hurting U.S. industry. The Section 301 investigations, announced the evening of Oct. 2, invite public comment on the extent of the violations, the scope of its impact on U.S. commerce, and suggestions for how to respond. Comments are due by Nov. 12.
Fifty senators, including 42 of 53 Republicans, wrote to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer this week, asking that the administration “begin the formal process of negotiating a comprehensive trade agreement with Taiwan.” The first step of the formal process would be notifying Congress, then soliciting input into negotiating priorities.
The U.S.-Japan mini-deal is not consistent with World Trade Organization rules, a former White House trade negotiator said, so the two sides mentioned a future phase two deal to cover substantially all trade to convince Japan's parliament to pass the accord. Because of the way the deal was structured, with small tariff reductions for Japanese exporters, it did not require a vote in Congress, Clete Willems, speaking recently on a webinar for University of Nebraska students, said. In calling the mini-deal phase one, “I think both sides were playing it cute, to be honest,” Willems, now at Akin Gump, said. He said Japan was not interested in a comprehensive bilateral trade deal, because it still wants the U.S. to rejoin the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
A lead negotiator for the Trans-Pacific Partnership released a paper arguing that reentering the rebranded Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for TPP is still the best way to deal with China's trade distorting practices, but her paper, and speakers on a Sept. 30 webinar, revealed the many barriers to reentry.