A day before the House is expected to pass a bill, the Inflation Reduction Act, that includes electric vehicle tax credits with strings attached for sourcing and assembly, activists and analysts are reacting to European Union's argument that the EV tax credit violates World Trade Organization rules.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The International Trade Commission published notices in the Aug. 9 Federal Register on the following AD/CV injury, Section 337 patent or other trade proceedings (any notices that warrant a more detailed summary will be in another ITT article):
The climate, healthcare and tax bill called the Inflation Reduction Act did not change the terms of an electric vehicle tax credit, even after fierce lobbying by automakers (see 2208040045).
As automakers lobby for a longer phase-in for requirements regarding North American content in EV batteries and sourcing of critical minerals, some trade groups are saying that stretch goals -- along with government funding in the Inflation Reduction Act -- are what's needed to create a new supply chain outside of China.
Canada's trade minister, Mary Ng, announced that Canada will launch a USMCA dispute with the U.S. over the continued antidumping and countervailing duties on some Canadian softwood lumber exports.
The dispute panel grappled with what Mexico characterized as "the heart of the dispute" in its second day of a hearing about whether Canada and Mexico or the U.S. is right about one aspect of the complex USMCA auto rules of origin.
Dispute panelists chosen by the U.S., Canada and Mexico grappled with whether Mexico and Canada should have understood the implications of how core parts origination could be established as they negotiated the language in the automotive annex and the standard rules of origin chapter in the USMCA.
In filings at the USMCA Secretariat, Mexico and Canada say the Uniform Regulations for USMCA are clear, and say that " roll-up applies to the calculation of [regional value content] RVC for a vehicle. It obliges Parties to take 'no account' of the non-originating materials contained in an originating good when that good is used in the subsequent production of another good."
Senate Finance Committee members praised the experience of Doug McKalip, the administration's nominee to be chief agricultural negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. McKalip, a senior adviser on international trade policy and other matters to the agriculture secretary, is a career staffer at USDA.