Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., introduced a bill last week that would grant the U.S. trade representative the authority to extend existing 100% tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles to autos produced by Chinese firms, no matter where they were assembled.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said "all aircraft and component parts, certain chemicals, certain generics, semiconductor equipment, certain agricultural products, natural resources and critical raw materials" from EU countries will be duty-free in the U.S. as part of a trade deal between the two sides.
Reps. Celeste Maloy and Burgess Owens, two Republicans from Ohio, asked the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative this week to open a safeguard investigation on imports of lamb and mutton. They said Utah sheep ranchers will be submitting a new Section 201 petition to the International Trade Commission.
A bipartisan group in the House publicized a letter they sent last month to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, asking him to remove 10% tariffs on coffee, and to avoid hiking tariffs on coffee beans in future deals.
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.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking on CNBC, did not say for sure that tariffs will go up on Aug. 1 on trading partners, but said, "I would think that a higher tariff level will put more pressure on those countries to come with a better agreement."
The Senate Appropriations Committee passed a bill to increase funding for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative by $6 million, more than 10%, and to increase funding for the Bureau of Industry and Security, which handles Section 232 action, by $20 million -- almost 10%.
U.S. retailers will move their supply chains out of Africa and into Asia should Congress not renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act or change the third-country fabric provision for the region, according to trade groups representing domestic U.S. apparel retailers.
The White House has nominated Julie Callahan, the assistant U.S. trade representative for agricultural affairs and commodity policy, to be chief agricultural negotiator for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Callahan previously held positions at the FDA and USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service.
Trade restrictions in pending Section 232 investigations for copper, lumber, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, critical minerals, heavy-duty trucks, commercial aircraft and engines, polysilicon and drones are a foregone conclusion, but "exactly what those trade measures will look like" has not been decided, Steptoe's Jeff Weiss said during a firm webinar.