The aluminum producers of Canada, Mexico and the U.S. have written their leaders -- as well as Mexico's president-elect -- asking that tariffs on aluminum be lifted, without quotas, before Nov. 30. "The USMCA cannot work for the aluminum industry or our many downstream customers without exempting Canada and Mexico from the [Section] 232 tariffs or quotas," the three trade groups wrote in a Nov. 5 letter. They suggested that unnaturally cheap Chinese aluminum cannot come into the U.S. through a free-trade backdoor. "Canada recently moved to align its country of origin marking regime for steel and aluminum products to prevent transshipment and diversion of aluminum and steel. Mexico has initiated an anti-dumping case on aluminum foil imports from China," the letter said, so the tariffs in the region are no longer needed. The U.S. aluminum trade group never supported aluminum tariffs on allies.

The Trump administration announced intent to appoint a major labor union president, the founder of an economics think tank, an insurance company CEO and two retired CEOs from businesses their families founded to four-year terms on the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations, under the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association sent President Donald Trump a letter praising his plan to meet with the Chinese president, and said that raising tariffs on nearly $200 billion in Chinese imports to 25 percent on Jan. 1 would dampen the economy. The organization said it supports "targeted trade actions against intellectual property theft, unfair dumping or subsidies," but not the broad application of Section 301 tariffs. Direct engagement with President Xi "is vital to resolving this trade dispute and ensuring it does not undermine our nation’s record-setting economic expansion and hurt American families," RILA President Sandra Kennedy wrote Oct 24. Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal on Oct. 25 reported that the U.S. won't engage in trade talks with China until the country's government presents a proposal to address U.S. intellectual property concerns.

On Twitter, President Donald Trump bragged that "Billions of dollars... coming into United States coffers because of Tariffs." A few hours later, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, he argued with the premise that tariffs are the greatest risk to the economy, declaring, "We don't have any tariffs." He then asked: "Other than some tariffs on steel -- which is actually small, what do we have?"

President Donald Trump signed into law on Oct. 24 an opioids bills package that includes measures to fight fentanyl trafficking through the mail. The STOP Act, or Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention Act, is one of the parts of the package (see 1809180040), and it will require advance data from all international mail by 2020 -- designed to help CBP interdict small-scale fentanyl and carfentanil shipments, particularly ones from China.

The State Department will file notice of the U.S.'s withdrawal from the Universal Postal Union, the White House said in an Oct. 17 news release. "This will begin a one-year withdrawal process, as set forth in the UPU Constitution," the White House said. "During this period, the Department of State will seek to negotiate bilateral and multilateral agreements that resolve the problems discussed in the Presidential Memorandum. If negotiations are successful, the Administration is prepared to rescind the notice of withdrawal and remain in the UPU." The action follows a recent State Department report on updating the terms of the UPU that said progress has been slow in making requested changes. President Donald Trump agreed with the State Department's "recommendation to adopt self-declared rates for terminal dues as soon as practical, and no later than January 1, 2020," the White House said. The UPU treaty allows for cheaper postal fees on small packages from China and other countries.

The chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers says trade negotiators have made "a heck of a lot of progress" with Europe, the United Kingdom and Japan, and "all of those agreements are going to look similar" to the rewritten NAFTA. Kevin Hassett was speaking at the Global Services Summit on Oct. 17, as he was interviewed by Laura Lane, UPS president of global public affairs. Technically, none of those trade negotiations have opened, as they are not allowed to until Congress sets priorities. The day before Hassett spoke, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative notified Congress of its intention to begin negotiations (see 1810160057). Hassett said President Donald Trump told his staff, "Once I get a deal with one country, I bet they're really going to cascade, the deals."

The U.S. will not meet with China to talk about trade until he's convinced they're ready to make a deal, President Donald Trump said, speaking with reporters after U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley announced her resignation on Oct. 9 at the White House. Trump said the U.S. rebuilt China by purchasing so many Chinese goods, and that he wants to put an end to the unbalanced trading relationship. "China wants to make a deal. And I say they’re not ready yet. I just say they’re not ready yet. And we’ve canceled a couple of meetings because I just say they’re not ready to make a deal," he said. "It’s been a one-way street for 25 years. We’ve got to make it a two-way street. We’ve got to benefit also, OK?"

Withdrawing from NAFTA before ratification of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement would "trigger devastating negative economic consequences," the Koch Brothers' Freedom Partners organization told President Donald Trump in a letter sent Oct. 3. The letter, which commended the administration for reaching an agreement, said USMCA has positive elements on digital trade, e-commerce and finances, but the introduction of wage standards and stricter auto rules of origin "drive up costs for everyone while protecting only a few jobs at the expense of many others." Freedom Partners and Americans for Prosperity asked the administration to immediately drop the steel and aluminum tariffs on Mexico and Canada, and to end the threat of Section 232 tariffs on autos and auto parts.

Previous presidents gave lip service to curbing China's unfair trade practices, but never followed through, National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said during a Q&A at the Economic Club of Washington, D.C. "And President Trump is following through. Don't blame Trump, blame the system he inherited." Kudlow, who called Trump a disrupter, acknowledged that he is "more of a doctrinaire free trader" than his boss. But, he said, the China problem can't be left alone. "China has played fast and loose with the rules," Kudlow said Oct. 4. "The World Trade Organization needs reforms to enforce those rules. China is not a developing country anymore."