U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, in a taped address to the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity held Oct. 10, said that his country "has taken effective actions" to address excess steel capacity, by imposing tariffs on direct and indirect steel imports from countries with overcapacity.
President Donald Trump reacted angrily to China's plan to expand export restrictions, including when rare earths are in products made abroad (see 2510090021. In a social media post that seemed to trigger a 2.7% drop in the S&P 500, he wrote, "Dependent on what China says about the hostile 'order' that they have just put out, I will be forced, as President of the United States of America, to financially counter their move. For every Element that they have been able to monopolize, we have two."
A week after CBP instructed vessel operators how to pay fees under a Section 301 shipping action, and four days before those fees are due, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative changed the fee structure.
The sunset review of USMCA was designed to provide certainty to businesses, since even if one country says it doesn't think the trade pact should continue at the six-year mark, consultations continue for 10 years.
President Donald Trump is suspicious of continuing a free-trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, according to a person who was a top trade official during the president's first term.
Joseph Barloon was confirmed to be the ambassador to the World Trade Organization in a 51-47 Senate vote Oct. 7. He was one of 108 nominees approved in that single vote. Barloon was first nominated in February. Barloon served as general counsel to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in 2019 and 2020. He had previously been nominated for the Court of International Trade, but since the nomination was 17 days before Trump left office, the nomination did not proceed.
House Select Committee on China ranking member Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., urged the Trump administration Oct. 8 to open new markets for U.S. soybean exports in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
There is a directive from President Donald Trump to quickly land deals in steel, aluminum and energy, according to Canadian Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who spoke to Canadian reporters in the late afternoon Oct. 7, after a White House visit accompanying Prime Minister Mark Carney.
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Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., asked Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to expand trade actions started with the Section 232 investigation on pharmaceuticals, so that they cover generic drugs and the active pharmaceutical ingredients and key starting materials in those medicines.