Given that more than half of imports from Canada and Mexico don't claim USMCA preferences, trade lawyers and customs experts are expecting a sharp and rapid increase in entries that claim the preference.
Vehicles that meet the USMCA rules of origin will be able to enter the U.S. duty-free again, for one month, two White House spokespeople said March 5.
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.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., introduced the Prioritizing Offensive Agricultural Disputes and Enforcement Act, with the aim of stopping what he called unfair subsidies in India and China for their domestic rice farmers. He was joined on the bill by Sens. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., John Boozman, R-Ark., Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala.
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.
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.
President Donald Trump exaggerated the death toll of fentanyl overdoses while discussing tariffs at a White House Cabinet meeting Feb. 26, and said, "I'm going to be very hard to satisfy" on whether Mexico and Canada have done enough to stop fentanyl smuggling at their respective borders.
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.