Two lawmakers asked the Biden administration this week to begin negotiations on trade deals with Ecuador and Uruguay. Trade agreements with both countries would “capitalize on the bipartisan momentum and success” of USMCA, said Sens. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio.
The International Trade Administration will receive a major increase in funding from the last fiscal year, a bump from $559 million to $625 million, the more than 4,000-page annual appropriations bill says. Of that, $16.4 million is dedicated for China antidumping and countervailing duty enforcement and compliance, exactly what the administration asked for (see 2203280048).
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the weeks of Dec. 5-11 and Dec. 12-18:
The Commerce Department published notices in the Federal Register Dec. 19 on the following AD/CV duty proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, scope, affected firms or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):
Two readouts from the administration say that Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jayme White and Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves told a top Canadian official that they are concerned about proposed legislation that would affect digital streaming services, tax digital services and, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, discriminate against U.S. businesses.
The Inflation Reduction Act creates opportunities for more North American economic integration, according to a Mexican diplomat and a top General Motors official.
Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, the former House Ways and Means Committee chairman who is retiring from Congress at the end of the month, told reporters in a farewell press conference that he thinks, with divided government, the administration will not be able to impose its will in trade and international tax policies by avoiding tariff reductions.
As carmakers, battery companies and critical minerals supply chain players await news from the Treasury Department on the details of how vehicles and batteries will become eligible for electric vehicle tax credits, a major South Korean carmaker sounded the alarm that the new Inflation Reduction Act could make its planned Georgia plant unprofitable.
Two former government officials, one a leader at a think tank, the other a lawyer at Akin Gump, acknowledge that even as businesses continue to believe quitting the Trans-Pacific Partnership was a tactical error, "there is no conceivable scenario in which the United States could sign onto the [Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for] TPP as it exists today. Strong opposition from both sides of the political spectrum to key elements of the deal would prevent congressional approval."
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters: