International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, wanted to include trade items in the bill that extends and expands Trump income tax cuts, according to a lobbyist on trade matters.
Producing scrubs in Haiti allows American firms to avoid 29% tariffs on pants, 16% tariffs on tops, and still import the fabric from Asia. But the trade preferences for Haiti known as HOPE/HELP expire in three months and 11 days, and Republicans who control the voting calendar are not reassuring the companies that it will be renewed on time.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is soliciting comments on whether African countries eligible for the African Growth and Opportunity Act benefits should continue to be eligible for AGOA in 2026. (Congress has to renew AGOA before then, as the whole program expires at the end of September.)
The head of the Africa Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said that Africans who are worried about the possible end of the African Growth and Opportunity Act should remember that it's not just their countries that are losing trade access.
Five senators, both Republicans and Democrats, asked Jamieson Greer, then the U.S. trade representative nominee, to advocate for a formal exclusion process to tariffs, as was done for the Section 301 tariffs in Trump's first term. These written exchanges were recently posted at the Senate Finance Committee website, long after Greer's confirmation vote.
Trade groups representing three strong exporting sectors -- soybeans, semiconductors and medical devices -- and an expert in critical minerals trade all told the Senate Finance Committee that higher tariffs on all countries and products, and constantly changing tariff policy, aren't good for American competitiveness.
House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., said that once the tax bill passes -- which he is expecting to happen by July 4 -- his top priority will be turning to trade.
The most unwavering defenders of President Donald Trump's "reciprocal tariffs" policy -- including House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo. -- were a bit undercut during a four-hour hearing on the president's trade agenda, because Trump reacted to Treasury market volatility and backed down.
Apparel importers and retailers don't have much favor in this administration, but groups representing their interests tried to appeal to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's logical side in comments requested by the agency on the reciprocal tariffs slated for April 2. The trade group representing the greatly diminished domestic textile and apparel industry, in contrast, said reciprocal tariffs could be used to recoup $100 billion in annual lost sales.