Mara Lee

The day after U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told Rep. Jackie Walorski at a hearing that he still believes there's no need for exclusions from 10 percent tariffs on Chinese imports, she and Rep. Ron Kind have introduced a bill that would force him to put the process in place. Their bill -- which has a Senate companion written by Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., and Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del. -- is called the Import Tax Relief Act.

China's financial support to its wheat, short-grain and long-grain rice farmers is valued at more than 8.5 percent of the value of production, and therefore is more generous than what China said it would do when it joined the World Trade Organization, a WTO dispute panel ruled. The report, which said that China pays a minimum price for these commodities, was circulated at the WTO on Feb. 28. The case was first filed in 2016.

Americans for Free Trade, a coalition of more than 150 trade associations, sent a letter to the White House Feb. 27 offering praise for the pause in escalations of tariffs on Chinese goods and asking that an agreement be reached that takes all tariffs away. "It is our hope that this momentum will build in the weeks ahead and lead to a final deal that addresses structural issues in China, removes tariffs on both sides, and eliminates trade uncertainty facing American businesses and farmers," they wrote. "Our coalition represents every part of the U.S. economy, including manufacturers, farmers and agribusinesses, retailers, technology companies, service suppliers, natural gas and oil companies, importers, exporters, and other supply chain stakeholders. Collectively, we support tens of millions of American jobs through our vast supply chains." Customs brokers and apparel, travel goods, furniture and jewelry importers were among those who signed the letter.

President Donald Trump, who has been saying China and the U.S. are "very, very close" to an agreement, sounded a different note in Vietnam, where he walked away from negotiations with North Korea when that country's denuclearization offer didn't go far enough. In a press conference in Vietnam, Trump said, "speaking of China, we're very well on our way to doing something special, but we'll see. I mean, I am always prepared to walk. I'm never afraid to walk from a deal. And I would do that with China, too, if it didn’t work out."

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, who is leading the China trade talks, downplayed the possibility that President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will sign a trade agreement a month from now. Lighthizer, who testified before the House Ways and Means Committee Feb. 27, was asked by Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., if he sees a package coming in the next few weeks. "I’m not foolish enough to think there’s going to be one negotiation that’s going to change all the practices in China," Lighthizer replied. "At the end of this negotiation, if we’re successful, there'll be a signing." But that's the beginning of a long process to monitor China's compliance with what it promises to do.

Although the main topic of the hearing was China, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told House Ways and Means Committee members repeatedly Feb. 27 that if they don't ratify the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, there will be no trade agenda for the next several years. "If we don’t pass USMCA, it says we don’t have a consensus," he said. Lighthizer also said: "It’s clearly better than its predecessor, it’s no question. Millions and millions of people are affected [by NAFTA]. You just have to pass it."

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, thinks passing the new NAFTA is urgent, but he acknowledged that not much will happen on Capitol Hill until the White House offers its implementing legislation. "The timeline begins when the president sends the [U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement] up to Congress, so we don't worry about it until then," he said. Grassley said that while the administration is deciding how to lift the metals tariffs on Canada and Mexico, he is planning to talk to Democrats about what they need to have changed in the agreement to vote yes. "I would like to have very specifically set out what it takes in the area of environment, labor and enforcement to satisfy the Democrats," Grassley said in a phone call with reporters Feb. 26. He said again that whatever they're asking for has to be accomplished without reopening negotiations (see 1902130049).

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce-organized USMCA Coalition launched Feb. 26, with many of the major trade players -- UPS, the Detroit automakers, the farm bureau, the American Apparel and Footwear Association -- and some notable absentees -- foreign automakers, aerospace firms.

Democrats in Congress are wondering if the president's rush to get a deal with China will result in a deal that leaves China's mercantilist policies in place, while a member of the Senate Republican leadership expressed confidence that the deal that's expected just a month from now will be comprehensive.

Trade experts are doubtful that a high-quality trade deal China is coming in a month, but the quality -- and what will happen with the tariffs on Chinese goods -- is still blurry. "The president, for all his self-proclaimed negotiating prowess, really seems to have negotiated himself into a corner on this," said Phil Levy, senior fellow on the global economy at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. "He escalated way too fast with the tariffs. He honestly believed if he threw around really big numbers the Chinese would cave. They did not. He got stuck with some threats that he didn’t really want to carry out."