The European Union, Japan, South Korea and U.S. all recognize they will be at the mercy of China during the energy transition unless they change the supply chains for batteries, experts said. The U.S. has nickel mines and a lithium mine (with another in process of opening), but China's dominance in processing minerals and making cathodes and anodes means China still could interfere with America's ability to produce economical electric vehicle batteries.

The Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan think tank that advances right of center tax policy, issued a lengthy report how Congress might consider changing the tax code for faster growth, for income distribution, or for reducing the deficit, noting that each change requires balancing trade-offs. For instance, the Foundation says that getting rid of safeguard tariffs on washing machines and solar panels, the Section 232 tariffs on metals, making permanent the pause in Airbus tariffs, and removing and the Section 301 tariffs on $475 billion worth of Chinese imports will mean a reduction in $79.5 billion in revenue next year, though the economists at the think tank estimated that the savings would spur enough economic growth that about $7 billion of that loss would be recovered with other taxes.

Although the Aluminum Association opposed the imposition of 10% tariffs on imported aluminum in 2018, now the trade group doesn't want those tariffs lifted entirely. The tariffs have already been removed on Canada, the No. 1 source of imported aluminum. “We were not in favor of the drastic move of putting [Section] 232 in” and “we would not be in favor of the drastic move of removing 232 in one fell swoop,” Aluminum Association CEO Tom Dobbins said.

The president of the U.S.-China Business Council told an online audience of customs brokers that he sees them as the problem solvers in trade, and that they're going to continue to have plenty of problems to tackle over the next few years. Craig Allen, who spoke to the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America April 14, said that the U.S.-China relationship, while intensely interdependent economically, is marked by mistrust and antagonism, and “the trend lines are not good.”

The trade policy counsel at a free markets-oriented think tank said that the hike in tariffs on 70% of what we import from China has increased costs on consumers, led to an estimated 300,000 fewer jobs, and didn't achieve its aims. “That might have been worth it if China were making wholesale changes to its commercial policies, but the early indications are not positive,” Clark Packard said during an R Street Institute webinar April 9. Packard said that staffers on Capitol Hill accept his argument that tariffs are damaging to the U.S. economy, but they say that not doing anything to respond to China's quest for economic domination is not an answer.

Pilot Freight Services, a logistics and customs brokerage service provider, acquired DSI Logistics, Pilot said April 6 in a news release. DSI is a “non-asset based provider of last-mile home delivery and installation for heavy and hard to handle goods,” it said. Terms of the deal, which closed March 31, weren't released.

BDP International purchased DJS International, a Dallas customs brokerage and freight forwarding company, BDP said in an April 6 news release. “Trade compliance continues to be filled with new complexities and challenges; it’s a major focus area for our customers and therefore it was a natural fit to extend our reach in this area of expertise,” BDP CEO Rich Bolte said. “We’ve always had a significant presence in the US Gulf region but with DJS we can provide a wider array of specialized and customized solutions for our customers in this new normal world.” DJS will continue to operate as a subsidiary of BDP, the company said. Terms of the deal weren't released.

The Aluminum Association, which never asked for 10% tariffs on primary aluminum, is asking the administration to lift the tariffs on countries that are committed to market-based trade, while working on multilateral efforts to curb trade-distorting industrial subsidies. At the same time, the group wants federal investment for domestic aluminum capacity, and to maintain Section 301 tariffs on aluminum imports. The association also wants reforms to the 232 exclusion process.

The U.S.-Bangladesh Business Council aims to increase trade between the two countries, as Bangladesh is expected to graduate from the least-developed countries list by 2026. The U.S. is the largest importer of Bangladeshi products, and imported not quite $7 billion in 2019, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. A launch program hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said that Bangladesh imported more than $1 billion in American agricultural products.

A former international trade commissioner warned that as government works to make supply chains more resilient, it's important that the private sector is listened to, and that the solution is passed in Congress, rather than through an executive order, which increases the chances of yo-yo'ing policy as administrations change.