There are still three pending Section 232 investigations, and the one on downstream electrical steel products is already at the White House, so you shouldn't be surprised if the Trump administration hikes tariffs on more products on the way out the door, according to Halie Craig, the former trade staffer for Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa. Craig, who was speaking on behalf of the R Street Institute, a pro-market think tank, also said she wonders if there will be more action against China, since the country is not on track to meet its phase one purchase targets.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Nov. 2-6 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
House Ways and Means Committee ranking member Kevin Brady, R-Texas, said that while he doesn't know if the lame-duck Congress will do anything other than pass a bill to fund the government, and another COVID-19 relief package, he is convinced that both the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill and the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program “would pass easily as suspension bills.” Suspension bills, like the unanimous consent process in the Senate, do not require floor time, only that no one objects.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said a renewal of the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program could happen either by packaging the bill with an omnibus spending bill, or, if Congress just passes another temporary spending bill, by attachment to a tax extenders bill.
Almost two-thirds of the Thai products that will soon be ineligible for the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program are not currently exported to the U.S., Thailand's director-general of the Department of International Trade Promotion told Thai reporters. Keerati Rushchano said 147 products will be affected, including steering wheels, auto wheels, transmission boxes, plastic glasses frames, chemicals and latex mattresses.
CBP issued a CSMS message Nov. 2 detailing changes to eligibility for Generalized System of Preferences duty benefits as a result of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s 2020 GSP review. Effective Nov. 1, fresh-cut roses are newly eligible for GSP, while par-boiled rice is no longer eligible for duty-free treatment under the program. USTR also declared six county-product pairs ineligible for exceeding competitive needs limitations (CNLs), and will allow 24 country-product pairs that exceeded CNLs to remain eligible under de minimis waivers.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
A set of changes to the Generalized System of Preferences will take effect Nov. 1 under a Presidential Proclamation issued on Oct. 30. Changes in the proclamation include the addition of fresh-cut roses to and removal of parboiled rice from the list of goods that are eligible for GSP, the U.S. Trade Representative said in a news release. The changes were reflected in an update to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule posted by the International Trade Commission. The proclamation also suspends GSP benefits for certain products of Thailand, effect Dec. 30. That is because of Thailand's "lack of sufficient progress providing the United States with equitable and reasonable market access for pork products," said the USTR.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
FBB Federal Relations partner Ray Bucheger told members of the Pacific Coast Council of Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Associations that while the message on the Hill is discouraging on extending current Section 301 exclusions, his firm is working on legislation for the companies that received exclusions too late to get refunds for the tariffs paid.