President Donald Trump told 15 congressional Republicans and four Democrats visiting the White House Feb. 13 that he's considering quotas or tariffs to protect domestic steel and aluminum. Producers have been decimated by dumping from China and other countries, he said. He said he'd discussed "in great detail" on the campaign trail how U.S. steel and aluminum industries have been taken advantage of by other countries.
Ripping up NAFTA was one of President Donald Trump's biggest applause lines at his campaign rallies, and it's hard to see him walking away from that, given its importance "for the people he feeds off," said Grant Aldonas, a Commerce Department undersecretary for international trade during the George W. Bush administration, speaking Feb. 13 at the National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones conference. He encouraged attendees to lobby Congress to modernize and preserve NAFTA, but he noted that their arguments have to take into account the power of populism and the uncertain political environment as midterm elections approach. "You can see that [uncertainty] in retirements, especially on the Republican side," he said. "People are dealing with politics they don't recognize."
The Trump administration's budget request for fiscal year 2019 keeps funding for the Commerce Department's International Trade Administration largely flat. Still, that funding "would allow ITA to conduct robust investigations into alleged trade violations, aggressively advocate for U.S. businesses facing tariff and non-tariff barriers abroad, and increase the capacity to closely review proposed foreign investments in U.S. businesses." The request, released Feb. 12, said "the President insisted on a simple, but forgotten principle -- America First," and said that trade enforcement is a high-priority, mission-critical program.
President Donald Trump said during a Feb. 12 infrastructure event that a "reciprocal tax" may be coming because our allies are not allies on trade. "We cannot continue to be taken advantage of by other countries. We cannot continue to let people come into our country and rob us blind and charge us tremendous tariffs and taxes, and we charge them nothing. We cannot allow that to happen," he said, repeating for emphasis: "We cannot allow it to happen."
President Donald Trump made a brief reference to international trade during his first State of the Union address on Jan. 30, without mentioning specific agreements or policies. The U.S. "finally turned the page on decades of unfair trade deals that sacrificed our prosperity and shipped away our companies, our jobs, and our wealth," he said. "Our nation has lost its wealth, but we’re getting it back so fast. The era of economic surrender is totally over. From now on, we expect trading relationships to be fair and, very importantly, reciprocal."
New Section 201 safeguard duties on residential washers and on solar cells and modules take effect for entries on or after 12:01 a.m. on Feb. 7, said two presidential proclamations signed by President Donald Trump on Jan. 23. Beginning on Feb. 7, imports of residential washers and solar cells that fall under the scope of the safeguard duties will be subject to tariff-rate quotas that will remain in effect, unless modified, for a period of three or four years, respectively (see 1801230052). Residential washers and solar cells and modules admitted into foreign-trade zones on or after that date must be admitted as “privileged foreign status,” and will be subject to the TRQs upon entry for consumption, the proclamations said. International Trade Today will have more details on the scope of the safeguard duties once the proclamations are published, along with their annexes, in the Federal Register.
President Donald Trump signed legislation on Jan. 22 to end the government shutdown, the White House said in a statement. The continuing resolution he signed will fund the government through Feb. 8, it said.
Canadian government officials believe a U.S. withdrawal from NAFTA is increasingly likely, Reuters reported Jan. 10. Based on two Canadian government sources, Reuters reported that there's an expectation for President Donald Trump to announce withdrawal around the time the U.S., Canada and Mexico meet later this month to discuss renegotiations of the deal.
The Trump administration's review of NAFTA and all other trade agreements will result in fairer terms for U.S. interests, President Donald Trump said in a Jan. 8 speech at the American Farm Bureau Annual Convention in Nashville. "To level the playing field for our great American exporters -- our farmers and ranchers, as well as our manufacturers -- we are reviewing all of our trade agreements to make sure they are fair and reciprocal -- reciprocal, so important," he said. "On NAFTA, I am working very hard to get a better deal for our country and for our farmers and for our manufacturers. It’s under negotiation as we speak. But think of it: When Mexico is making all of that money, when Canada is making all of that money, it’s not the easiest negotiation. But we’re going to make it fair for you people again."
President Donald Trump again sent to the Senate the nomination of CBP Acting Commissioner Kevin McAleenan to be permanent commissioner, the White House said in a Jan. 8 notice. The Senate recently sent McAleenan's nomination back to the White House under rules for nominations the chamber doesn't act on before the end of an annual session (see 1801050008). The Senate Finance Committee will need to again approve the nomination before it's considered again by the full Senate. The White House also sent back to the Senate the nominations of Ann Marie Buerkle to be chairman and Dana Baiocco to be a commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.