In a bill that Republicans say is "rightsizing agencies and programs," the division of the Commerce Department that handles antidumping and countervailing duties administration would be cut by 5.7% -- $7 million -- from the current fiscal year. The bill also proposes cutting funding of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative by 8.1% -- $6 million -- from current spending. The International Trade Commission, which manages changes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule code, provides independent analysis crucial to the AD/CVD process, and manages the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill product nominating process, would get a 5.7% cut, $7 million less than current spending.
Almost 20 trade groups and a handful of companies disagreed on how to ensure supply chain resilience -- many arguing that liberalizing trade with allies is crucial to reduce the likelihood of shortages, or weaponization, but others asserted that friendshoring will undermine domestic production already under stress.
The gaps in trade policies between the U.S. and Europe, despite their agreement on the problems, and the difficulty of improving trade relations with major developing countries were grappled with this week by a panel of experts from the U.S. and Europe.
A joint statement of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and Kazakhstan's president, released almost a week after USTR Katherine Tai's visit to Kazakhstan, noted that Kazakhstan values the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program as a way to diversify the destinations of its exports. The GSP has been expired for more than three years, but Tai said she generally supports Congress' efforts to "revitalize and renew the Generalize System of Preferences program." The statement also noted that Kazakhstan would like permanent normal trading relations with the U.S.; it's still subject to the Jackson-Vanik amendment, as are other former Soviet Union republics Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce supports PNTR for Kazakhstan (see 2001090055).
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is seeking feedback on how to deepen trade collaborations among member countries of the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity: the U.S., Barbados, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Uruguay.
Canada's Trade Minister Mary Ng, under questions from parties to the left and right of her Liberal party, as well as the Québécois party, said the fact that there are outstanding disagreements between Canada and the U.S. on U.S. trade remedies on softwood lumber, on auto rules of origin and on Canadian dairy import restrictions does not mean that Canada will get big-footed in the free trade review.
There are a number of tools that the U.S. government has yet to fully utilize if it truly wants to tackle China's use of forced labor to manufacture goods, according to panelists speaking June 13 at a Hudson Institute event, “Tackling the Uyghur Forced Labor Challenge.”
USDA has determined the total amounts of WTO tariff-rate quotas for raw cane sugar and certain sugars for FY 2025. The agency established that from Oct. 1, 2024, to Sept. 30, 2025, the in-quota aggregate quantity of raw cane sugar will be at 1,117,195 metric tons raw value (MTRV), while the FY 2025 in-quota aggregate quantity of certain molasses (or refined sugar) will be at 232,000 MTRV. USDA's notice will be effective on June 14, the date that it will be published in the Federal Register.
House Foreign Affairs Committee member Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., during a hearing on competition with China in the Western Hemisphere, argued that the shortages experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic show that businesses should move supply chains to the Western Hemisphere.
Importers and the broader trade industry should expect DHS in the coming months to expand the business sectors under scrutiny for companies’ adherence to forced labor guidelines within the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, DHS Undersecretary for Policy Robert Silvers said during a June 12 webinar sponsored by Kharon, a risk analytics platform.