U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, speaking at the University of Chicago, sidestepped a question about whether the administration would change the Section 301 tariffs, saying that although "there's a lot of drama and emotion around tariffs," the China tariffs are "the least interesting aspect of the management of our trade and economic relationship."
USMCA
The U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement is a free trade agreement between the three countries, also known as CUSMA in Canada and T-MEC in Mexico. Replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 2020, the agreement contains a unique sunset provision where, after six years (in 2026), any of the three parties may decide not to continue the agreement in its current form and begin a period of up to 10 years where USMCA provisions may be renegotiated.
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 Commerce Department published notices in the Federal Register Feb. 6 on the following AD/CV duty proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, scope, affected firms or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):
Automakers and their suppliers are telling the Biden administration in comments submitted ahead of an upcoming report that not having a form for certificate of origin has paradoxically made compliance more difficult. They also said that companies are having a difficult time certifying how much workers in the supply chain earn, and that the absence of final USMCA regulations are all problems for trade compliance in the more than three years since USMCA took effect.
An analysis of how the stricter rule of origin for auto imports has been implemented -- including the unprecedented labor value content element -- praised coordination among the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Labor Department, CBP and other agencies with expertise, but noted that final regulations have been held up because the U.S. has not reached a final resolution in the dispute it lost at a USMCA panel.
The Commerce Department on Jan. 31 finalized an interim rule on the dispute settlement mechanism for reviewing antidumping and countervailing duty decisions from the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The rule references the provision under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement as opposed to the relevant article under the North American Free Trade Agreement -- the predecessor to the USMCA.
As Josh Kagan leaves as assistant U.S. trade representative for labor, USTR Katherine Tai announced that Katy Mastman will replace him in an acting capacity. Tai said, "Josh’s leadership has been instrumental in our successful use of the USMCA Rapid Response Labor Mechanism and work to eradicate forced labor in supply chains."
For the second time, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative asked the Mexican government to investigate whether service center workers were being denied their right to form a union, under the rapid response labor mechanism in the USMCA.
CBP affirmed an August 2023 Enforce and Protect Act decision that thermal paper from Germany transshipped through Mexico was covered by the scope of, and evaded, an antidumping duty order, the agency said in a de novo administrative review on Dec. 22.
House Ways and Means Committee Trade Subcommittee Chairman Adrian Smith, R-Neb., said he thinks the chances are good for renewing the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program in 2024, due to bipartisan interest in the legislation. "A lot of members have examples from their district of why we need GSP." He added that a three-year lapse of the benefit program is "inexcusable."