Outgoing European Union President Jean-Claude Juncker said he doesn't believe there will be tariffs on European autos this month. The U.S. trade representative is supposed to report to Donald Trump on Nov. 14 on whether there have been enough concessions resulting from talks with Japan and the European Union that the domestic auto industry is no longer imperiled by imports from those regions.

The Canadian Society of Customs Brokers, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America and the Mexican Confederation of Customs Broker Associations (CAAAREM) signed a joint strategy agreement on Oct. 29, the NCBFAA said in an email to members. The groups agreed to "promote data harmonization and alignment" exchange implementation information about the revised NAFTA and "foster increased compliance with international trade agreements through shared communication with trade chain partners." The associations also agreed to "enhance and raise awareness of the role of customs brokers, including exploration of harmonization of [Authorized Economic Organization (AEO)]/trusted trader programs and mutual recognition arrangements." Broker training and professional development standards will be another goal for the groups in 2020.

Because the U.S. did not fix antidumping calculation methods after it lost a case in 2017 regarding 25 Chinese products, China will soon be authorized to levy tariffs on about $3.58 billion in U.S. goods, the World Trade Organization announced Nov. 1. China will have to formally request the right to retaliate at the next Dispute Settlement Body meeting, scheduled for Nov. 22.

As the U.S. and China look to soon sign phase one of their trade agreement, the two sides are planning another trade call for Nov. 1, China’s Ministry of Commerce said Oct. 31, according to an unofficial translation. The scheduled call comes days after Chile announced it was canceling APEC, the trade summit where President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping expected to sign the deal’s first phase (see 1910300037).

Chile will no longer host APEC meeting, raising questions about the status of phase one of the U.S.-China trade agreement, which was expected to be signed during the November summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. The country will not be hosting the trade summit due to recent violent protests and social unrest, Chile's President Sebastian Pinera announced Oct. 30, according to Reuters. The summit was expected to feature a meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping after Trump said the two sides were “ahead of schedule” on the agreement’s first phase (see 1910280026). China said the deal’s first phase was “basically completed.”

The World Trade Organization will convene a dispute settlement panel to judge whether India had the right to impose tariffs on apples, almonds, motorcycles and other products (see 1906170053). The panel was approved for formation in Geneva Oct. 29. Under the additional tariffs, American apples are taxed at 70 percent, compared with 50 percent for other countries' apple exports; the tariff on almonds and walnuts increased by 20 percentage points; and chickpeas and lentils have an additional 10 percentage points of duties. Most of these products are imported at low volumes, but India projected that it would collect more than $100 million in tariffs on almonds in the shell, and more than $20 million on apples. India says it is justified because the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum are really safeguards to protect American mills and foundries, not national security measures. India is one of many countries involved in litigation at the WTO over the steel and aluminum tariffs -- others include Norway, Russia, the 28 countries of the European Union and China.

South Korea will continue to be classified as a developing country at the World Trade Organization in some respects, but not in negotiations, Reuters reported. "The government decided not to seek special treatment as a developing country from future negotiations at WTO,” Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Oct. 25. Developing countries are allowed looser standards on agriculture subsidies in the WTO, and the finance minister emphasized that Korea will continue to protect its agriculture.

A former top U.S. trade official and a New Zealand ambassador were optimistic the World Trade Organization can work through issues over its dispute settlement body but warned about damaging consequences for world trade if it doesn’t.

China is going to ask the World Trade Organization to authorize retaliatory tariffs on $2.4 billion worth of goods at the WTO's dispute settlement body meeting Oct. 28. If the U.S. disagrees with either the argument that it's not complying with the ruling on countervailing duties, or the amount of retaliation permitted, an arbitrator will decide how much China may retaliate.

Trade experts identified many weaknesses of the World Trade Organization -- the evidentiary standard for countervailing duties: the fact that CVD in one market doesn't help the industry's economics when surplus flows to other countries; the length of time it takes to show adverse effects to domestic firms; the fact that 164 countries can't agree on trade liberalization.