The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced country-by-country allocations of additional FY 2024 in-quota quantities of the tariff-rate quotas for imported raw cane sugar. Of the 125,000 metric tons raw value added to the raw cane sugar TRQ by USDA in early March (see 2403060084), USTR is allocating quota amounts as follows: Australia 15,555; Belize 2,061; Bolivia 1,499; Brazil 27,174; Colombia 4,498; Costa Rica 2,811; Ecuador 2,061; El Salvador 4,873; Eswatini (Swaziland) 2,998; Fiji 1,687; Guatemala 8,996; Guyana 2,249; Honduras 1,874; Jamaica 2,061; Mozambique 2,436; Peru 7,684; Philippines 25,300; South Africa 4,310; Thailand 2,624; and Zimbabwe 2,249. The changes are effective March 19.
More than a quarter of the U.S. Senate asked the U.S. trade representative to push back against the EU Deforestation-Free Regulation, saying the approach presents "significant compliance issues due to its stringency and ambiguity. One specific concern is the traceability requirement. The EUDR imposes a geolocation traceability requirement that mandates sourcing to the individual plot of land for every shipment of timber product to the EU. In the U.S., 42 percent of the wood fiber used by pulp and paper mills comes from wood chips, forest residuals, and sawmill manufacturing residues -- wood sources that cannot be traced back to an individual forest plot."
The U.S. ambassador to Canada and the Canadian ambassador to the U.S. said trade cooperation between the two countries -- each is the other's top trading partner -- is crucial, but their tone on the NAFTA replacement was slightly different.
Twenty-two Republican senators -- including the top Republicans on the Senate Finance and Agriculture committees and one of the front-runners to replace Minority Leader Mitch McConnell -- argue that the "current sharp decline in U.S. agricultural exports is directly attributable to and exacerbated by an unambitious U.S. trade strategy that is failing to meaningfully expand market access or reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade."
Panelists from the U.S. and Mexico said that cars assembled in Mexico by Chinese-owned firms can't enter the U.S. with USMCA benefits because of the stringent rules of origin, but spent less time talking about how cars manufactured outside China, including in the U.S., could enter under 2.5% most favored nation tariffs.
Four unions, representing machinists, steelworkers, shipbuilders and electricians, plus the Maritime Trades Council division of the AFL-CIO, asked the Biden administration to open an investigation under Section 301 on China's practices in its port infrastructure/logistics and shipbuilding industries.
Ten senators have introduced a bill to require that the administration reinstate 25% tariffs on Mexican steel imports for at least one year, because they say that Mexico is not honoring the 2019 agreement that lifted Section 232 tariffs on Mexico and Canada. A companion bill was also introduced in the House.
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 Subcommitee Chair Mike Kelly, R-Pa., warned that the committee would not "stand by idly and watch the Biden administration and Treasury Department sacrifice American tax dollars for political gain." Kelly, who was holding a hearing this week on the implications of international negotiations on extra-territorial taxes, including digital services taxes, said the draft deal at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development will disadvantage U.S. firms.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative seeks comments by April 22 on ways that U.S. trade and investment policies can promote supply chain resilience, it said in a March 7 notice. Among other things, the agency seeks comments on how policies can support domestic manufacturing and how to align labor and environmental protections with allies. USTR also seeks comments on how to avoid free trade agreements functioning as a “backdoor,” as well as on sector-specific policies to promote supply chain resilience, it said. USTR will hold a hearing May 2 on the subject, with requests to appear due April 12. Post-hearing comments are due by May 16.