Advocates for seasonal workers in the U.S., on farms and in other settings, are asking the Mexican government to use USMCA's labor chapter to bring a case on gender-based discrimination in those programs. The Center for Migrant Rights announced the complaint March 23, which says that farms and other businesses prefer to recruit men, which is proven by the fact that 97% of H2A visas go to men, and 87% of H2B visas go to men. Even when women are hired, they are assigned to lower-paid positions, such as packing, rather than field work, the complaint said.
U.S.Trade Representative Katherine Tai talked with Japan's Trade Minister Kajiyama Hiroshi about how they're concerned about unfair trading practices from non-market economies such as China, but did not mention that topic coming up with the South Korean trade minister. South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee and Tai talked about how the U.S.-Korea free trade agreement strengthened economic ties, and discussed World Trade Organization reform, the call summary said. The Korean press emphasized agreement on writing digital trade rules. Tai also spoke with Mexican Economy Secretary Tatiana Clouthier, and they talked about fully implementing USMCA and Mexico's labor reform. “Tai also stressed the critical importance of cooperation on climate and environmental issues, as well as reform at the World Trade Organization and the mutual benefits of robust bi-lateral agricultural trade,” a readout of the talk said. Clouthier tweeted her thanks for such a productive meeting.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai opened her first full week on the job with a series of video calls with major allies and trading partners -- Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union -- and diplomatic summaries of the calls from both sides mostly echoed each other, suggesting there was a good deal of agreement.
The chairman and the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee said they want to work together on improving enforcement of America's ban on the importation of goods made with forced labor, with Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, saying, “I'm glad this is an issue we both care deeply about.” They spoke at the beginning of a two-hour hearing on fighting forced labor March 18. Crapo said that Congress should pass the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which would create a rebuttable assumption that goods made in Xinjiang were made with forced labor. Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said CBP needs more resources to enforce the ban. Crapo also said CBP regulation must provide thoughtful guidance “so Americans know how to avoid importing these goods.”
Rep. Haley Stevens, co-chair of a new 34-member House Democratic Manufacturing Task Force, said that the last expiration of the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill hurt companies. “A lot of manufacturers lost out and a lot of hard-working manufacturing workers lost out on wages,” she said during a press conference March 18.
CBP's interpretation of the “core or super-core calculation” within USMCA will have a major impact on the auto industry, with billions of dollars “at stake,” Sandler Travis lawyer Lenny Feldman said at the March 17 meeting of the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee. That calculation involves the regional value content, and CBP's stance differs from Canada's and Mexico's, he said. “Prior to July 1, there are some really urgent issues, particularly in the auto industry, that need to be addressed,” said Feldman, a COAC co-chair.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated March 16. The following headquarters rulings were modified recently, according to CBP:
House Ways and Means Committee chief trade counsel Katherine Tai was confirmed by the Senate as U.S. trade representative on March 17, by a 98-0 vote. Politicians from both parties, trade skeptics and export-focused trade associations all hailed her promotion to the Biden administration Cabinet. She is the first woman of color to be USTR.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from March 8-12 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.