The head of the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam said businesses there don't know whether U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will conclude that Vietnam has been a trade cheat through currency manipulation but not put a tariff number on it; put a tariff number but not start collecting; or implement tariffs before the new administration takes over Jan. 20.
U.S. Trade Representative (USTR)
The U.S. cabinet level position that oversees trade negotiations with other countries. USTR is part of the Executive Office of the President. It also administers Section 301 tariffs.
The additional Section 301 tariffs on goods from the European Union announced late Dec. 30 (see 2012300062) will take effect “with respect to products that are entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on January 12, 2021,” the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a notice. USTR said in a Dec. 30 news release that it would increase the tariffs as part of the ongoing World Trade Organization dispute over Airbus subsidies. The announcement disrupts settlement talks and “exceeds the amount of retaliation authorised by the WTO,” a European Commission spokesperson emailed. “The Commission is analysing the data in detail and will look at all options available on how to respond.”
The 22-person witness list for the Dec. 29 virtual Section 301 investigative hearing into allegations that Vietnam deliberately undervalued its currency to thwart U.S. economic growth is stacked heavily with people on record as opposing remedial tariffs on Vietnamese imports. Prehearing submissions in docket USTR-2020-0037 foretell some will also testify that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is singling out the wrong country for Section 301 currency manipulation review and is doing so for ulterior motives.
Witnesses from the furniture and cabinet sector in both Vietnam and the U.S. argued that Vietnam has greatly improved its governance over illegal imports of tropical wood and, to whatever degree illegal imports still exist, that wood is not then exported to U.S. buyers.
The Consumer Technology Association would be “extremely affected and disappointed” by any Trump administration rush to impose Trade Act Section 301 tariffs on Vietnamese imports before leaving office, President Gary Shapiro said in a Dec. 16 interview. “Our industry has suffered, in the national interest in a sense, because of U.S. positions taken on China,” he said, and additional tariffs on goods from Vietnam would be an unexpected, secondary blow.
The Coalition for a Prosperous America, a nonprofit allied with President Donald Trump's views on trade, is arguing not to extend exclusions for Section 301 tariffs because companies have had “ample time” to move their supply chains out of China. “Any bemoaning from the import lobby that relies on China should have looked to home first. There are plenty of Americans and American businesses that can fulfill their supply chain needs,” CPA Chairman Dan DiMicco and CEO Michael Stumo wrote to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
A number of U.S. trade groups questioned the evidence behind the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's assertions that Vietnam is importing illegal timber, and the assertion that those logs end up in exported products going to the U.S. The groups said in comments to the agency that the notice initiating the Section 301 investigation contained no citations for these claims. Both trade groups and companies asked for a virtual public hearing, and the right to rebut others' submissions.
The majority of comments from U.S. interests submitted on whether the U.S. should do anything to pressure Vietnam to stop manipulating its currency favor not putting tariffs on Vietnamese imports. Many comments filed in the docket express disagreement with the very premise of the investigation. HanesBrands, which manufacturers apparel in Vietnam that is exported to the U.S., Australia, Canada, the European Union and China, requested a public hearing on the investigation, and quoted the statute that requires such a hearing if requested by any interested person.
CBP has some qualms with the operational aspects of ending the de minimis exemption for goods subject to Section 301 tariffs, Executive Assistant Commissioner for International Trade Brenda Smith said while speaking on the virtual Coalition of New England Companies for Trade conference on Nov. 9. There's a CBP proposal for the change that's under Office of Management and Budget review (see 2009040026). “We do have some concerns,” she said.
The U.S. supports South Korea's Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee rather than the Nigerian candidate for director-general, even though the latter has more support, because the World Trade Organization “must be led with someone with real, hands-on experience in the field,” the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in an Oct. 28 statement, saying “the WTO is badly in need of major reform,” and that Yoo is a “bona fide trade expert.”