Less than a month from the election, Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves invited U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., and Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su to speak at his company's Coatesville, Pennsylvania, mill about how recent policy has supported steelworkers.
Former Mexican Ambassador to the U.S. Martha Bárcena said that she has been told that the U.S. will not comply with the panel ruling that said that rollup was understood to be part of the automotive rule of origin (see 2403070067), and she said that is undermining USMCA. She said that's because both the Republicans and the Democrats are fighting for the political support of the United Autoworkers and Teamsters. (The autoworkers' union characterizes rollup as watering down the requirement for North American content in vehicles).
Global steel excess capacity is reaching "crisis levels," which distorts trade and drives the price of steel down, displacing market-based production, said Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Small Business, Market Access, and Industrial Competitiveness Sushan Demirjian.
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.
House Ways and Means Committee members Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, and Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., led some fellow committee members and other House members in asking U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to brief them on the status of the dispute over Mexico's policy on genetically modified corn, and how that might affect the 2026 review of the USMCA.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said that negotiators from its office and those from Kenya had a productive round of talks Sept. 16-30, with discussion of text covering "administrative matters; agriculture; customs, trade facilitation, and enforcement; environment; good regulatory practices; inclusivity; and workers’ rights and protections."
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Sept. 23-29:
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, in responses to Senate Finance Committee members, talked about changes needed in USMCA, declined to endorse a permanent e-commerce tariff moratorium and called for more money for CBP, to address Section 301 tariff circumvention.
Texas-based syringe importer Retractable Technologies took to the Court of International Trade to contest the 100% increase of Section 301 tariffs recently imposed on needles and syringes from China. The complaint is seeking a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction against the duties, claiming that the tariffs could send the company out of business (Retractable Technologies v. United States, CIT # 24-00185).
Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and chairman of the Budget Committee, recently introduced a bill that would allow the administration to impose Section 301 tariffs on goods made outside of China if they are made by Chinese firms.