The White House announced May 18 that the president is invoking the Defense Production Act in response to the infant formula shortage, which will require that suppliers send inputs to infant formula manufacturers ahead of other customers, and will direct the Pentagon to use its commercial air cargo contracts to transport formula from foreign factories that have met FDA safety standards. The White House is calling that Operation Fly Formula. "Bypassing regular air freighting routes will speed up the importation and distribution of formula and serve as an immediate support as manufacturers continue to ramp up production," the administration said.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai asked Mexico to review whether workers at the Panasonic Automotive Systems de Mexico facility in Reynosa are being denied the rights of free association and collective bargaining. By doing so, USTR is endorsing an April 18 request from Rethink Trade and a Mexican union that was, at the time, trying to win a union vote at the factory (see 2204190031). The two groups' complaint said that Panasonic fired more than 60 workers who supported the independent union, and that the captive union, Confederación de Trabajadores de México (CTM), was offering bribes to workers to get their votes. They also said that Panasonic signed a contract with CTM before the vote, and started withholding union dues almost a month before the vote.
Former Mexican ambassadors to the U.S. and a former U.S. ambassador to Mexico expressed anxiety that Mexico is not able to capitalize on the move to nearshore or friendshore for a variety of reasons.
At a joint press conference in Ottawa, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Canadian trade minister Mary Ng did not reveal any agreements on trade irritants, but emphasized that they can work out their differences with the trust they share and the strong relationship between the neighboring countries. It was Tai's first trip to Canada since becoming USTR, and she had a full schedule planned, meeting with small businesses, labor groups, and touring a General Motors facility in Markham, Ontario.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
In a daylong hearing about how to deal with the distortion Chinese industrial policy creates in world markets, American witnesses recommended dramatic changes to government policies aimed at divorcing China from the U.S. economy, and not just in sensitive technologies, but also in consumer goods, such as cell phones and tablets or electric vehicle components. All were speaking on trade issues to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission April 14. The commission's mandate is to report to Congress on the national security implications and impact of the bilateral trade and economic relationship between the United States and China, and its members are appointed by Republicans and Democrats in Congress.
A wide variety of trade groups told the Commerce Department that while they know the administration doesn't intend to tackle tariffs as part of its negotiations with Asian countries, they think offering to lower tariffs on U.S. goods would be the best way to get ambitious commitments in the region, and many said reconsidering the re-named Trans-Pacific Partnership is better than the conceived Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.
CBP posted more documents ahead of the March 31 Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) meeting:
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters: