Some companies said in recently submitted comments they used to benefit from Section 232 tariffs but no longer do. Others said they previously were able to mitigate the cost impact of Section 301 tariffs through exclusions, finding other suppliers or other trade benefits but can't anymore.
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 U.S. and Taiwan this week agreed to soon begin trade talks under a new initiative aimed at increasing trade in goods and removing “discriminatory barriers,” the Office of U.S. Trade Representative said. The negotiations, which USTR said are set to begin “early this fall,” also will include discussions on trade facilitation measures, anti-corruption, agriculture, technology standards, digital trade, labor and non-market policies. The U.S. and Taiwan plan to “pursue an ambitious schedule” for the talks, Deputy USTR Sarah Bianchi said, adding the discussions will result in a “fairer, more prosperous and resilient 21st century economy.”
The U.S. and Mexico successfully resolved a rapid response complaint over alleged violations of worker rights at the Teksid Hierro de Mexico plant in Frontera, Mexico (see 2206060046), the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said Aug. 16. The facility, which is owned by Stellantis, will take several steps meant to protect worker rights, USTR said. As a result of the resolution, USTR Katherine Tai instructed Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to direct CBP to resume entry liquidations of goods from the factory, in an Aug. 16 letter.
In filings at the USMCA Secretariat, Mexico and Canada say the Uniform Regulations for USMCA are clear, and say that " roll-up applies to the calculation of [regional value content] RVC for a vehicle. It obliges Parties to take 'no account' of the non-originating materials contained in an originating good when that good is used in the subsequent production of another good."
Senate Finance Committee members praised the experience of Doug McKalip, the administration's nominee to be chief agricultural negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. McKalip, a senior adviser on international trade policy and other matters to the agriculture secretary, is a career staffer at USDA.
The North American auto industry is waiting with baited breath for the panel decision on the interpretation of the auto rules of origin, and for the additional guidance from CBP to the auto industry, according to Dan Ujczo, a USMCA maven with clients in the auto industry. Ujczo, a senior counsel at Thompson Hine, said in a July 6 phone interview that one of the areas where importers need clarity is in how steel in vehicles can be certified as North American before the melted and poured standard arrives in 2027.
Trade ministers meeting at the World Trade Organization in Geneva agreed to a partial solution to harmful subsidies for fishing fleets, an intellectual property waiver for Covid vaccines, and to allow sale of commodities to the World Food Program even if the product is otherwise subject to export restrictions. The countries that attended the ministerial conference also agreed to extend the moratorium on tariffs on electronic transmissions.
A top official in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said that opposition to extending a moratorium on tariffs on sales of intangible goods has surfaced before, but that the e-commerce moratorium has been renewed at every World Trade Organization ministerial conference since 1998. "There are a few countries, despite benefiting from e-commerce and digital trade, who continue to resist an extension of the moratorium," she said, but most countries, including in the developing world, see the tariff-free status as important.
Requests for action from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative should go beyond asking USTR to go and fix a problem via the World Trade Organization, USMCA or other dispute settlement system, said Daniel Stirk, senior associate general counsel at the agency. Speaking on a panel at the Georgetown International Trade Update, Stirk said that instead, trust that the office is already aware of the issue and is taking steps to solve it, and if you still decide to approach USTR, come with thoughtful solutions.
Greta Peisch, general counsel at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, said that the USTR will spell out in an upcoming Federal Register notice what opponents to Section 301 tariffs should address as they critique the effectiveness of the tariffs on the vast majority of imports from China, and what information the office would find useful as they undertake the review of the tariffs.