A bipartisan group of legislators introduced a bill Sept. 26 that would temporarily lift tariffs on imports of “base powder,” a key component of baby formula. The Bulk Infant Formula to Retail Shelves Act would “boost domestic baby formula production and get more product on shelves amid the continued shortage across the United States,” a news release said. The bill would come on top of tariffs on infant formula temporarily eliminated by the Formula Act in July (see 2207210041). The current tariff on base powder is 13.6% + $1.035/kg, according to a fact sheet on the new bill.
The American Apparel and Footwear Association said it wants Congress to pass a bill that would refund tariffs paid for goods eligible for the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program that entered in 2021 and through the end of July this year, though without renewing the program..
When asked if decoupling renewal of two tariff-lifting programs from a reauthorization of Trade Adjustment Assistance is a non-starter, House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., told International Trade Today, "Well, I'd certainly want to discuss it with [Republicans] ... they all have to be done in some shape or form."
Apple should “rethink” any decision to purchase chips from China’s Yangtze Memory Technologies Co., Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., wrote in a Sept. 14 letter to the U.S. technology company. Cotton said Apple and “far too many” other American businesses “already rely on China for manufacturing and supplies. Adding another Chinese company to Apple’s supply chain, particularly one with close ties” to the Chinese government and military, “compounds these risks.”
House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., and Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., said a recent Labor Department report about Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) labor compliance in the Dominican Republican's sugar industry confirmed their conclusions when they visited sugar cane farms in July, that the workers live in substandard conditions and that there is a "culture of fear" in the industry.
A trade group that represents firms that import Mexican produce fired back at a Florida delegation that had asked the U.S. trade representative to initiate an investigation against Mexican growers under Section 301 (see 2209090052).
All but five of Florida's 27 members of the House of Representatives and both Senators are asking U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to initiate a Section 301 investigation on Mexican exports of fruits and vegetables.
The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing on “The Future of U.S.-Taiwan Trade” on Sept. 14 at 11 a.m. It will be livestreamed on the committee website.
Twenty-seven House Republicans, led by Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana, asked CBP to defend its implementation of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, in light of a recent report from the Uyghur Human Rights Project (see 2209060033). They asked if any red jujube dates from Xinjiang have entered the U.S. since June 21, and if so, how many shipments have done so.
Forty-four House members, led by prominent trade skeptic Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., told the administration that they do not support the inclusion of eight of the 13 countries in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework negotiations, and that Congress and outside stakeholders should have "the opportunity to weigh in at the outset on proposals for specific negotiation objectives and, as negotiations continue, on draft text."