The Biden administration won't overturn a limited exclusion order blocking the import of Apple Watches that the ITC found infringe on patents owned by AliveCor, a spokesperson in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative confirmed. AliveCor had said that the USTR told it the administration would not move to block the order during the 60-day presidential review period (see 2302210064). According to AliveCor, this is the first-ever limited exclusion order against Apple to clear presidential review, although the Patent and Trademark Office's Patent Trial and Appeal Board recently ruled the underlying patents were invalid. An Apple spokesperson said the exclusion order will have no practical impact as enforcement is on hold pending AliveCor’s appeal of the PTAB ruling to the Federal Circuit.
The Biden administration will purportedly not move to block a limited exclusion order from the International Trade Commission on Apple watches, according to AliveCor, the company that brought the underlying Section 337 complaint.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai hailed the introduction in Mexico of a resolution that would ban the importation of merchandise made with forced labor, calling it an "important step forward." Tai said once it passes, it will help North American countries tackle transshipment.
The two most important people in global trade, according to a conference moderator -- the U.S. trade representative and her EU counterpart -- presented a united front on the need for a new approach at the World Trade Organization, a new flavor of globalization, and their ambitions to work together on coordinating a standard for green trade and ways to confront distortive trade practices.
House Ways and Means Committee Trade Subcommittee Chairman Adrian Smith, R-Neb., said the Biden administration is leaving an opportunity on the table by not continuing negotiations for a comprehensive trade agreement with the U.K.
A bipartisan group of senators signed a Feb. 14 letter urging the Biden administration to take action against a surge of Mexican steel imports. The letter said tariffs can be reintroduced under a 2019 agreement that removed Section 232 duties on Mexican steel imports but allows them to be reintroduced if Mexican steel imports "exceed historic volumes of trade" and "surge meaningfully" into the market. The lawmakers said iron and steel imports increased about 73% over the agreed baseline from 2015 to 2017, which they believe requires action from the administration under the agreement.
The muted response of the agriculture secretary to Mexico's concessions on genetically modified corn was not enough, according to Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Smith sent a letter Feb. 15 to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai arguing that it is time to initiate a formal dispute over the non-tariff-barriers.
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.
The top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee said renewing the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program and the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill didn't happen last year because Democrats pushed "social policy and environmental policy in MTB and GSP."
Former Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, has joined the American Enterprise Institute as a visiting fellow, the think tank announced. He will focus on expanding free trade, U.S.-China relations, U.S.-Russia relations and the war in Ukraine, as well as some domestic issues. Before serving in the Senate, Portman was a U.S. trade representative during the George W. Bush administration, and headed the Office of Management and Budget during that administration, as well.