The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative ought not to announce 10% tariffs on Canadian aluminum at the end of this week, just before the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement goes into force, Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., told International Trade Today in an interview. The administration has not announced its intentions, but several outlets quoted unnamed sources saying the tariffs are coming if Canada doesn't agree to voluntary restrictions on its exports.
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.
Any future Section 301 exclusion renewals will only last until the end of the year, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told the House Ways and Means Committee as he testified June 17 about the administration's trade agenda, adding that “they will decide what happens after that.”
Reports that China would be slowing or stopping its purchases of soybeans because of U.S. action over Hong Kong (see 2006010044) are inaccurate, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said. Lighthizer, who was speaking to the Economic Club of New York, Washington and Chicago by video on June 4, said China made $185 million worth of U.S. soybean purchases since that story was published. He said that coverage of the trade agreement frequently focuses on the purchase promises and neglects the structural reforms that were pledged, but that both tracks have been going well in the three months since the deal went into effect. “You’ll know what the score is before too long,” he said.
Outsourcing wasn't about competitive advantage, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said during an interview with conservative lobbyist Matt Schlapp, in a video branded Conservative Political Action Conference/Live. He said that while the Trump administration believes in competitive advantage, classic economists “never thought of the notion they can create scale through economic nationalism and gain advantage over another country.”
The United States notified the World Trade Organization that it has fully complied with the WTO's findings in the Boeing subsidies dispute, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said May 6. The European Union and U.S. have been battling for 15 years over whose subsidies to their aircraft manufacturers distort trade. The WTO has said that both sides were in the wrong, and the U.S. currently has Section 301 tariffs on about $7.5 billion worth of European aircraft, food, apparel, linens, tools, wine and spirits in a WTO-sanctioned retaliation for past Airbus subsidies.
The U.S. and United Kingdom will begin virtually negotiating a trade deal this week, U.K. Trade Secretary Elizabeth Truss said. The talks, which have been expected for months (see 2002190021, 2003020061 and 2001280042), will start through video conferences, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative told Politico May 3, and will be held remotely until international travel resumes. In a May 3 tweet, Truss said the U.K. will “be working to bring benefits to all parts of [the U.K.] and boost our economies during #coronavirus recovery.” The USTR did not comment.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative says that Amazon's foreign websites are “Notorious Markets,” the government's term for sites that “reportedly engage in or facilitate substantial piracy or counterfeiting.” USTR says its goal in naming and shaming through the Notorious Markets List “is to motivate appropriate action by the private sector and governments to reduce piracy and counterfeiting.” Specificially, the agency mentioned Amazon's websites in Canada, the United Kingdom, India, Germany, and France.
High-level Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and senior Brazilian officials agreed April 16 to “accelerate ongoing trade dialogue under the Brazil-U.S. Commission on Economic and Trade Relations (ATEC) with a view to concluding in 2020 an agreement on trade rules and transparency, including trade facilitation and good regulatory practices,” USTR said in a statement issued the following day. “They also agreed to engage in domestic consultations, consistent with each country’s domestic procedures, to solicit input on how best to expand trade and develop the bilateral economic relationship,” the statement said.
The U.S. trade representative and Brazil's Foreign Affairs minister discussed ways to deepen discussions under the Agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said April 10. Another call is to take place next week, to both flesh out areas of agreement and tackle irritants. USTR will consult with Congress, as well, on “how best to expand trade and develop our economic relationship.”
The European Union's Committee on International Trade Chairman Bernd Lange, in a roundtable with trade reporters Feb. 27, said that he asked officials from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative if there's any truth to rumors that the U.S. will either pull out of the government procurement agreement at the World Trade Organization, or that it will seek to raise its bound tariffs, a process that would begin at the WTO. “I got confirmation from all stakeholders this will not happen,” said Lange, who was in Washington to talk with officials from USTR, Congress, unions and think tanks. But, he added, “sometimes decisions in the United States are taken quite quick,” so he can't be sure that answer will be true next week.