The Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act passed the Senate 3.5 hours before expiration, but because the White House has not signed the bill, the benefits expired after midnight on Sept. 30. American Apparel and Footwear Association CEO Steve Lamar thanked the Senate for moving the CBTPA so quickly after the House passed a 10-year renewal. He urged President Donald Trump to sign the bill into law quickly.
Mexico's cabinet members in charge of implementing labor law changes and managing the USMCA more broadly said they are helping the private sector evaluate whether businesses could be a target of the rapid response mechanism, and they are working on the four-year process of democratizing labor unions in the country. Labor Secretary Luisa Maria Alcalde de Lujan said new laws include eliminating the former arbitration system, which was part of the executive branch, and creating a system of labor judges.
The long-awaited World Trade Organization decision on how much in tariffs the European Union can use to retaliate for Boeing subsidies has been sent to the parties, Reuters is reporting, and that amount is $4 billion worth of goods. Reuters said the EU is unlikely to impose tariffs before the U.S. election in November.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has asked the International Trade Commission to initiate a global safeguard investigation into imported blueberries, and whether those imports are causing serious injury to domestic blueberry growers. The agency said it would make this request nearly a month ago, but only just recently put the request in, on Sept. 29.
A task force led by Republican House members recommended more trade agreements, engagement at the World Trade Organization, and “a strategic plan for Phase Two negotiations” with China to address distorting subsidies, dominance of state-owned enterprises that dictate the terms of trade and data, and forced tech transfer and joint venture requirements. It also said the U.S. should be aggressive in enforcing the China phase one agreement, particularly on forced tech transfer, intellectual property and barriers to agriculture imports.
A bill that instructs CBP to use manifest data to enhance targeting of de minimis shipments -- with a particular focus on China -- passed the House of Representatives Sept. 29. The Consumer Product Safety Inspection Enhancement Act says that CBP would need to start the enhanced screening of consumer products within 18 months of the law's signing. The bill says that CBP should use the participating government agencies message set, property rights seizure data, and certificates of compliance to do risk assessments for products that could violate consumer product safety standards.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said that a bill that overwhelmingly passed the House last week that would change the presumption of guilt for goods coming from China's Xinjiang region may not get a vote in the Senate this year. “They haven't been moving much legislation,” he told International Trade Today during a phone call with reporters Sept. 30. “We'll see when we get to the lame duck, what the status of that is.”
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said all 100 senators were being called on Sept. 29, and if none of them oppose renewing the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act, it could pass Sept. 29 or 30. The trade preference program expires Oct. 1. Grassley told International Trade Today during a Sept. 29 call with reporters that he won't know if it can pass before expiration until all the senators weigh in.
While some individual companies in the medical and protective equipment sector testified that advantaging U.S. production will prevent shortages in the next pandemic, trade groups generally emphasized that stockpiling is the best solution, and that production needs to be globalized for the lowest risk. All were testifying across two days this week to the International Trade Commission, which was tasked with investigating the U.S. production and trade in goods needed for COVID-19 pandemic response, and supply chain challenges revealed in the crisis.
As trade and labor attorneys wait to see which company is the target of a promised AFL-CIO rapid response complaint, Warren Payne, a senior adviser for Mayer Brown's public policy and international trade practices, said there can be informed speculation on who might be first.