A group of Washington, D.C.-based lobbying and public affairs entities plans a listing on London’s Alternative Investment Market, a submarket of the London Stock Exchange, in mid-December. Public Policy Holding Company Inc. (the group) operating subsidiaries are Crossroads Strategies, Forbes Tate Partners, Seven Letter, O'Neill and Associates, and Alpine Group Partners. The group represents companies and industry groups on various trade issues, among other things.

The Coalition for a Prosperous America asked the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to allow domestic companies to rebut exclusion applications that claim that there are no affordable alternatives to Chinese products. "Unlike the prior tariff exclusion rounds, the Biden Administration has chosen not to afford any opportunity for domestic producers to rebut unsubstantiated and false claims in importers’ requests," the Coalition wrote in a letter it made public on Dec. 6. It said that USTR needs to closely scrutinize the 2,024 exclusion requests.

The newly formed Coalition for Economic Partnerships in the Americas does not explicitly say that the textile rules of origin in CAFTA-DR need reform, though it calls on the administration "to do what previous administrations ignored: to structure trade to support investment in the United States and our allies in Central America. In order for our economy to thrive, we must eliminate the bureaucratic red tape that hinders production and investment in the region."

PSA International agreed to acquire BDP International from private equity firm Greenbriar Equity Group, the companies said Nov. 30. PSA is based in Singapore and describes itself as "a leading global port group and trusted partner to cargo stakeholders." Tan Chong Meng, CEO of PSA, said "BDP will be PSA’s first major acquisition of this nature -- a global integrated supply chain and transportation solutions provider with end-to-end logistics capabilities." BDP's services include "air and ground transportation; origin management, export freight forwarding; import customs clearance and regulatory compliance; trade compliance, analytics and optimization solutions." The deal's financial terms weren't released.

The National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones is asking FTZ-user companies and FTZ grantees to tell them if they hold aluminum or steel from the European Union member countries in their FTZs, and to talk to their senators and representatives about the fact that if there isn't language about FTZs in the proclamation rolling back the tariffs on EU metals, those tariffs will still be due when the metals enter into commerce.

Nonprofits, such as Amnesty International, Public Citizen, Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam and Greenpeace, joined by the majority of House Democrats and 10 senators, are urging the Biden administration to push for an intellectual property waiver in the World Trade Organization for "COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and diagnostic tests."

Trade associations and industry groups urged World Trade Organization members to extend the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions. In a "Global Industry Statement," ahead of the Nov. 30-Dec. 3 12th Ministerial Conference, 73 groups said that allowing the moratorium to expire would amount to a "historic setback for the WTO," due to its role in allowing the digital economy to grow. The groups urged an extension until the next conference. The moratorium is key to the COVID-19 recovery, as the cross-border exchange of knowledge, COVID technical expertise, and scientific and commercial information across transnational IT networks, "as well as access to digital tools and global market opportunities have helped sustain economies, expand education, and raise global living standards," the statement said.

Chambers of commerce in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. collectively are asking each country's leaders to hold each other accountable to fully implement USMCA. In a joint letter Nov. 16, they said, "The Canadian and Mexican private sectors share apprehension over differing interpretations of USMCA’s rules of origin and how the U.S. interpretation of these provisions poses risks to our integrated supply chains." They also said that the Canadian and U.S. private sectors are deeply concerned about Mexico's actions restricting investment in its energy sector. "Attempts to favor state-owned enterprises at the expense of renewable and other private energy providers only undermine investment certainty, put at risk ambitious shared goals to address climate change, and promise both added cost and diminished opportunity for our countries’ workers," they wrote, and said they hope government will engage the private sector in meaningful dialogue in both arenas. They also said in future emergencies like the pandemic, "there should also be greater cooperation on border management to ensure the flow of commercial traffic and cargo."

A new dwelling fee on containers at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports should not be passed on to importers, said Noel Hacegaba, chief operating officer of the Port of Long Beach. Hacegaba was speaking to the U.S. Fashion Industry Association virtual conference, during a Nov. 10 panel on the supply chain.

The former minister counselor for trade affairs in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing told an audience that in the last few years, Chinese government officials "feel like they've outflanked us on the trade front." James Green, who was speaking on a Flexport webinar on the future of U.S.-China trade policy, said that officials were pleasantly surprised that the tariffs on most exports to the U.S. did not hurt their economy more. And, he said, between sealing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and applying to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership, they also feel like they have other options for exporting when things with the U.S. sour.