President Donald Trump appointed members of his National Economic Council (NEC) on Feb. 27, the White House announced (here). Among the appointees are Andrew Quinn to serve as special assistant to the president for International Trade, Investment and Development; Ray Starling to serve as special assistant to the president for Agriculture, Trade and Food Assistance; and Kenneth Juster to serve as deputy NEC director and deputy assistant to the president for International Economic Affairs, in which he will serve as the lead U.S. negotiator for the G-7, G-20 and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summits. Quinn arrives from his previous post as deputy assistant U.S. trade representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, while Starling shifts from serving as chief of staff to Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Juster transfers from investment firm Warburg Pincus.

The White House is exploring alternatives to the World Trade Organization dispute resolution system and "incoming officials” have tasked the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative with drafting a blueprint of legal mechanisms for unilateral trade remedies, the Financial Times reported (here). The U.S. would remain a WTO member under the plans. President Donald Trump called the WTO a “disaster” for the U.S. in July during his general election campaign (see 1607260043). The White House didn’t comment on the report.

Retail executives from the Retail Industry Leaders Association talked at the White House with President Donald Trump on Feb. 15 about the border adjustment proposal, according to an industry official. The meeting was “positive,” and Trump showed a willingness to work with the private sector on the issue in the future, the official said. Trump said during the meeting (here) his administration is planning a "massive tax plan" that "will be submitted in the not-too-distant future." During the meeting, RILA "stressed the importance of taking a thoughtful approach to tax reform for both individuals and corporations," the group said (here).

The Trump administration is reportedly considering a policy to prevent China from devaluing its currency to stimulate exports, according a Wall Street Journal article (here). The new National Trade Council (NTC) within the White House is formulating the plan, which would instruct the commerce secretary to designate the act of currency manipulation by any country as an unfair subsidy, putting U.S. companies in a position to bring countervailing actions to the Commerce Department, according to the article. Although part of a "China strategy" being drafted by the NTC, the plan would not single out China, the report said. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, a longtime critic of Chinese currency manipulation (see 1611160034), lauded such a policy. “Giving the Commerce Department authority to go after currency manipulation in trade cases is the most meaningful way we can provide relief for American manufacturers who’ve been hurt by this unfair practice and I urge the White House to move quickly,” Brown said in an emailed statement. The White House didn’t comment.

The National Milk Producers Federation, the U.S. Dairy Export Council, the International Dairy Foods Association and the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture on Feb. 13 urged President Donald Trump to address Canada’s “protectionist” milk pricing policy in his meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the same day. The groups said (here) that the “scheme” is slated to spread from implementation in Ontario in 2016 to the rest of the country in 2017, is “expressly intended” to cut milk imports from the U.S., and has already cost U.S. companies $150 million in exports. The coalition also cited a Feb. 7 meeting between House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, after which Ryan identified dairy market access as a “key issue” the two nations must improve upon. "American dairy producers and processors want a fair and level trade relationship, and have deep concerns about proposed changes to the Canadian supply-side management system, which are designed, in part, to discourage U.S. exports,” U.S. Dairy Export Council CEO and former U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement. The White House didn’t immediately comment.

President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are working to build a “21st century border” through initiatives such as cargo pre-clearance and continued collaboration on regulations, they said in a joint statement (here). “In the spirit of a more efficient and secure border, we will also examine ways to further integrate our border operations, including analysis of the feasibility of co-locating border officials in common processing facilities,” they said. The two nations are "doing some cross-border things that will make it a lot easier for trade, and a lot better and a lot faster for trade," Trump said during a joint press conference on Feb. 13 (here). "Through technology, we have some really great ideas, and they'll be implemented fairly quickly."

President Donald Trump’s Jan. 30 executive order requiring federal agencies to kill two regulations for every new one issued (see 1701300037) was challenged in court Feb. 8 when the Natural Resources Defense Council and other groups sued the administration for a declaratory judgment that the order exceeds Trump’s constitutional authority. Trump’s order “will block or force the repeal of regulations needed to protect health, safety, and the environment,” said the complaint in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by NRDC, Public Citizen and the Communications Workers of America (here). "The plaintiffs are asking the court to issue a declaration that the order cannot be lawfully implemented and bar the agencies from implementing the order," a news release said (here).

The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued "Cyber-related General License 1," which authorizes certain transactions with the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) ordinarily incident to requesting certain licenses and authorizations from that entity for the importation, distribution or use of certain information technology products in Russia, OFAC said (here). The license also authorizes certain transactions with the FSB ordinarily incident to transactions necessary and ordinarily incident to comply with rules and regulations administered by, and certain actions or investigations involving, the FSB. The OFAC license is contingent on the proper Commerce Department authorizations for the exportation, re-exportation or provision of any goods or technology subject to the Export Administration Regulations, as well as on the payment of any fees to the FSB for any necessary licenses totaling $5,000 or less in any calendar year, the general license says. The general license does not apply to exportation, re-exportation or provision of any goods, technology, or services in "the Crimea region of Ukraine," OFAC said. "We're not easing sanctions," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said in response to a reporter's question during a Feb. 2 press briefing. "It's a fairly common practice for the Treasury Department, after sanctions are put in place, to go back and to look at whether or not there needs to be specific carve-outs for different industries or products and services that need to be going back and forth." Spicer referred further questions to Treasury.

The Trump administration will examine possible improvements to all existing U.S. trade deals, including those with Trans-Pacific Partnership nations, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Jan. 31 during a press briefing (here). “You would examine those to see if we can improve upon them and then look at the other countries in there and see if there's a willingness to engage with some of those other countries,” he said. Of the 11 current TPP nations, Australia, Chile, Canada, Mexico, Peru and Singapore currently have free trade agreements with the U.S. Spicer said Senate confirmation of President Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, would be an important first step before the administration starts its evaluation of current trade deals. The Finance Committee has not scheduled a confirmation hearing for Lighthizer yet, and is reviewing whether he might need a waiver absolving him of any non-compliance of past trade representation he performed on behalf of the Brazilian government with a statute that prevents the USTR from having represented foreign governments in trade matters, a committee majority spokeswoman said last week (see 1701250061).

President Donald Trump will nominate Elaine Duke for deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, DHS said in a news release (here). Duke was DHS undersecretary for management until 2010 and most recently worked as a consultant. Trump also appointed Thomas Homan, executive associate director of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, acting director of ICE, DHS (here).