The Ocean Shipping Reform Act, which would punish carriers who reject exports from West Coast ports if the Federal Maritime Commission deems those decisions as unreasonable, was signed into law June 16. The FMC is directed to begin a rulemaking on the matter. The law also puts the burden of proof on the reasonableness of demurrage and detention fees on ocean carriers, rather than the parties who were charged the fees.

The removal of Ukraine from the countries whose steel exports face 25% tariffs, announced in early May (see 2205090041), will take effect on June 1. A presidential proclamation said Ukrainian steel that is in foreign-trade zones and entered under foreign privileged status will still face 25% Section 232 tariffs when it enters into commerce after that date. The break from national security tariffs will last one year, the proclamation said.

A bipartisan group of governors from 18 states are asking the White House to accelerate the investigation into tariff circumvention for solar panel manufacturers in Southeast Asia. "As Governors, we strongly urge you and your administration to expedite a preliminary determination as well as an economic analysis of the impact retroactive actions would have on businesses, workers, and families."

Deep in the White House budget proposal, the administration projects that after collecting $93 billion in duties in the current fiscal year, only $54 billion will be collected between Oct. 1 and Sept. 30, 2023. It projects collections would drop further to $46 billion in fiscal year 2024 before gradually climbing to $60 billion in 2032. Last year's budget projected that there would only be $57 billion in duties collected in this fiscal year, and $45 billion next fiscal year.

The World Shipping Council pushed back against comments by President Joe Biden that the ocean carrier industry is unfair and uncompetitive, saying carriers “actively compete against one another in the global marketplace, including on the shipping lanes most relevant for U.S. trade.” In his first State of the Union address March 2, Biden said ocean carriers benefit from uncompetitive practices that drive up shipping prices.

The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, said the administration could initiate another Section 301 investigation into China's practices in strategic sectors. It said the sources didn't say which sectors, but said there could also be tighter export controls, with greater cooperation with European and Asian allies on subsidies, and that the administration might increase scrutiny of U.S. companies' investments in China. The article said that a Section 301 investigation has been bandied about for months, but that it has new momentum since the talks to build on the Trump administration's phase one trade agreement have been fruitless. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the White House press office didn't respond to requests for comment.

President Joe Biden should "take the bold step of eliminating tariffs on shoes and other basic consumer goods through Labor Day 2022," the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America said in a March 1 letter to the president ahead of the State of Union Address. "This is one way the government can truly attack inflation successfully," the group said. "We note that some Members of Congress have called for a reduction in gas taxes, and we believe eliminating import taxes should be part of that conversation."

President Joe Biden signed an executive order Feb. 21 that prohibits imports of goods or services from the Luhansk and Donetsk regions of Ukraine.

A center-right think tank noted that with the International Trade Commission saying safeguard tariffs on imported solar panels and cells should continue, and the Department of Justice appealing a ruling that tariffs on bifacial solar panels weren't legal, the White House is likely to continue the safeguard tariffs past the original February expiration date. The American Action Forum said Jan. 14 that is a poor choice, with the U.S. paying twice as much for solar panels as other countries as a result. "Utility-scale bifacial solar modules are the most important for President Biden’s climate agenda because they are the most efficient and will be increasingly used in large utility-scale energy projects. Despite the years of tariffs intended to boost domestic production of these utility-scale solar modules, they are still not manufactured in the United States."

A senior administration official, speaking on background to reporters Jan. 10, said Ethiopia could possibly return to the African Growth and Opportunity Act preference program before next January if "positive and constructive steps" are taken to resolve the civil conflict in that country. "But we would need to see significantly more progress on the concerns that led to the termination in the first place in order to go down that road," the official said.