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:
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."
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.
Eight House members, four Democrats and four Republicans, wrote to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai that five months of consultations is more than enough, and it's time to push for a binding resolution to the administration of dairy tariff rate quotas in Canada. Under the USMCA, the next steps could be Canada and the U.S. agreeing to conciliation or mediation, or the U.S. could call for a dispute settlement panel. Reps. Ron Kind, D-Wis.; Tom Reed, R-N.Y.; Antonio Delgado, D-N.Y.; Glenn Thompson, R-Pa.; Suzan DelBene, D-Wash.; Dusty Johnson, R-S.D.; Jim Costa, D-Calif.; and David Valadao, R-Calif., sent the letter May 21, and in it noted that Canada reserves part of its quotas for processors in Canada, a factor that undermines the ability of American dairy exporters to use the TRQs.
In a joint statement, Canada's trade minister, Mexico's economy minister and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said they reviewed USMCA committee work, noting progress and offering “recommendations for future work to maintain progress.”
Endless Frontier Act Requires More Reporting to Congress on Forced Labor, Counterfeits, Phase 1 Deal
The Endless Frontier Act, a massive bill working its way through the Senate that aims to improve the United States' ability to compete economically with China, also addresses a number of issues relevant to importers, including enforcement of the forced labor statute, seizure of counterfeits, and progress on the issues that led to the Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., said he's "conceptionally comfortable" with changes to the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program proposed by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore. (see 2105180075), and that "once the staff gives us a green light on it, we'll try to get it done." Neal, who spoke with an International Trade Today reporter in a brief interview at the Capitol May 19, said the renewal of GSP and the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill may be able to move expeditiously. He said he and Wyden are closely aligned on their views on trade.