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.
Going from zero tariffs on most Canadian and Mexican imports to 25% convulsed Capitol Hill and foreign capitals, with some Republicans diverging from the president's protectionist message and Democrats universally using the action to attack Trump as the reason prices will go up.
WilmerHale International Trade Practice leader David Ross told panelists on a discussion of reciprocal trade that, "contrary to some earlier expectations, there are indications that the president is not planning to do a line-by-line" tariff adjustment to match tariff levels of trading partners, but, rather, to seek to quantify the costs of higher tariffs and other policies he sees as trade barriers, and to put a single tariff rate on the country's products.
President Donald Trump, perhaps seeking to clarify remarks he made in the Oval Office the previous day (2502260032), posted in the morning Feb. 27 that the fentanyl-related tariffs "scheduled to go into effect on MARCH FOURTH will, indeed, go into effect, as scheduled."
Jamieson Greer, the former chief of staff to the U.S. trade representative during the first Trump administration, was confirmed by the Senate on Feb. 26, with a 56-43 vote. Five Democrats supported him, including both Michigan senators and Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and John Hickenlooper of Colorado. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., voted no.
Jeffrey Gerrish, former deputy U.S. trade representative for Asia, Europe and the Middle East, told the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee that the time has come to undo the "colossal mistake" of granting permanent normal trading status.
The U.S. government is considering charging fees ranging from $500,000 to $1.5 million each time a ship docks at a U.S. port, with higher fees charged when Chinese vessels enter; South Korean or Japanese-built ships wouldn't avoid the fees, however, as the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative seems to have taken earlier criticisms into account that global shipping companies would own just as many Chinese ships but use them at other destinations.
The former chief counsel for trade enforcement strategy at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, who led the four-year review of Section 301 tariffs and the launch of a Section 301 investigation on mature chips, has joined DLA Piper as a partner in the national security and global trade practice. Brian Janovitz worked at USTR for more than 10 years, and also was involved in litigation, such as the biotech corn dispute, which the U.S. won.
The U.S. will consider a revival of Section 301 investigations on digital services taxes in several countries, as well as potential tariffs to counter “trade and regulatory practices” in those and other countries that “discriminate against” or “disproportionally affect” U.S. companies, under a memo signed by President Donald Trump Feb. 21.
The reciprocal tariffs that the U.S. intends to levy on imports -- which could be announced as soon as April 2 -- may not be a one-for-one match of the tariff rate of another country for that product. Rather, they could take into account wage suppression, exchange rate management, "mercantilist policies," non-tariff barriers, value-added tax and extraterritorial taxes.