Almost 20 trade groups and a handful of companies disagreed on how to ensure supply chain resilience -- many arguing that liberalizing trade with allies is crucial to reduce the likelihood of shortages, or weaponization, but others asserted that friendshoring will undermine domestic production already under stress.
USDA has determined the total amounts of WTO tariff-rate quotas for raw cane sugar and certain sugars for FY 2025. The agency established that from Oct. 1, 2024, to Sept. 30, 2025, the in-quota aggregate quantity of raw cane sugar will be at 1,117,195 metric tons raw value (MTRV), while the FY 2025 in-quota aggregate quantity of certain molasses (or refined sugar) will be at 232,000 MTRV. USDA's notice will be effective on June 14, the date that it will be published in the Federal Register.
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The Biden administration's proposed Section 301 tariff hikes on various Chinese goods (see 2405220072) would continue to skirt World Trade Organization commitments and strip the global economy of international tribunals, which are key to curbing "persistent protectionism," said George Washington Law School professor Steve Charnovitz in comments on the proposed tariffs.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, when asked about the U.S. views on reviving dispute settlement at the World Trade Organization, said that countries need to reflect on how the previous system provided incentives for the U.S. and EU to "continue fighting for almost 20 years about state support for Boeing and Airbus, caused us to fight with each other, and pick at each other while the PRC [People's Republic of China] built up its own large civil aircraft industry under our noses."
The auto industry welcomes the pre-emptive tariff on Chinese electric vehicles -- it is going from 27.5% to 102.5% Aug. 1 -- but says that higher Section 301 tariffs on lithium-ion batteries and the minerals used to make those batteries work are counterproductive to the goal of helping automakers catch up to China's head start.
The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, shortly after the administration chose to keep and expand the Section 301 tariffs (see 2405220072), grappled with what it should recommend to Congress on how to use trade policy to counteract trade distortions from China's communist-run economy.
Section 301 China tariff changes outlined by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative May 14 will take effect approximately 90 days after a request for comments that will be issued next week. That includes a 100% tariff on Chinese-origin electric vehicles, as well as the jump to 25% Section 301 tariffs on steel and aluminum products, ship to shore cranes, lithium-ion electric vehicle batteries, battery parts for non-lithium-ion batteries, "some critical minerals" and face masks, and a bump to 50% tariffs on solar cells, syringes and needles, the White House said in a fact sheet.
Bloomberg reported that the White House will release the Section 301 tariffs review next week, with higher tariffs on electric vehicles, batteries and solar cells. The report said it's unclear if there will be any tariff reductions, "though large-scale reductions aren’t expected."
While the U.S. should look to counter China with export controls, tariffs and outbound investment restrictions, it also needs to better incentivize trading partners to diversify their supply chains away from China, the Atlantic Council said this week.