During a wide-ranging interview on trade with International Trade Today, Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Ind., said she would like to advance Section 232 reform in the House, get the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program and the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill back in place, and, if warranted, weigh in with the U.S. trade representative on USMCA.
USMCA
The U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement is a free trade agreement between the three countries, also known as CUSMA in Canada and T-MEC in Mexico. Replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 2020, the agreement contains a unique sunset provision where, after six years (in 2026), any of the three parties may decide not to continue the agreement in its current form and begin a period of up to 10 years where USMCA provisions may be renegotiated.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, ahead of the first USMCA Labor Council meeting June 29, is inviting the public to suggest topics to discuss at the meeting, or questions for U.S., Mexican or Canadian participants. Comments are due June 22, and can be sent to Brenna Dougan with the subject line USMCA Labor Council Meeting at USMCA.labor@ustr.eop.gov, or to Samantha Tate, division chief for USMCA Monitoring and Enforcement, Office of Trade and Labor Affairs at the Labor Department, ILAB-Outreach@DOL.gov.
The U.S. activated the rapid response mechanism under USMCA for the second time, as U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh agreed with the AFL-CIO and other petitioners that there is “sufficient credible evidence” that Tridonex workers at an auto parts factory in Matamoros are being denied free association and collective bargaining rights.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai told union members that steelworkers have faced unfair competition due to overcapacity, and that she'll be talking to her counterparts in Europe next week about how to create "new standards to combat the harmful industrial policies of China and other countries that undermine our ability to compete."
Mehlman Castagnetti hired Alex Perkins, who was most recently senior manager of international government affairs at Stellantis, previously known as Fiat Chrysler, the lobbying firm said in a June 8 news release. “A top expert in trade, customs and supply chain policy, Perkins developed and executed a government relations and public affairs strategy to guide the Fortune 500 automaker through the NAFTA/USMCA renegotiations and helped lead the multi-sector USMCA business coalition,” the firm said. Before joining the auto industry, Perkins was counsel for the House Ways and Means Committee and for Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.
The Border Trade Alliance told Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo that the U.S. port-of entry anchor for reference prices under the tomato antidumping suspension agreement "undermines the USMCA in letter and spirit," and will cause compliance problems for produce importers, since it is an administrative change to how things have always been done. In the past, a June 2 BTA letter says, the first point of sale was the reference point. But to change that to the port of entry will mean the costs of USDA inspection fees, transportation from the U.S.-Mexico border to the warehouse and other handling fees will be incorporated into the minimum reference price. The BTA believes this is an example of "U.S. trade policy calibrating around the protests of a small but vocal cohort of regional special interests."
The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) for CBP will next meet remotely June 23, CBP said in a notice. Comments are due in writing by June 22.
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated May 25. The following headquarters rulings were modified recently, according to CBP:
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said the U.S. and Canada could not reach an agreement on the administration of Canada's dairy tariff rate quotas, so the dispute will be decided by a panel. At issue is the fact that Canada has reserved the large majority of TRQs for Canadian processors, which means that consumer goods produced in the U.S. like ice cream, cheese or yogurt face higher tariffs in Canada because very little of the TRQ is available to Canadian retailers. Even when it's not restricted to processors, the TRQs are reserved for distributors, which means American producers cannot pitch their goods at lower prices directly to retail chains.
The Coalition for a Prosperous America says that the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program and the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill lead to offshoring and a low-wage workforce in the U.S., and that the MTB is "abused by importers who lobby against policies to boost domestic production, and it conflicts with the national imperative to re-shore the industries and jobs we have lost."