Jesus Seade, who led the USMCA negotiations on behalf of the president-elect in Mexico in 2018, said that while the World Trade Organization is a member-driven organization, the director-general should be more than just a facilitator, especially since the body is in crisis.

2020 outpaced even the active 2019 in terms of the frequency of Harmonized Tariff Schedule updates. Most of the updates implemented new Section 301 exclusions and changes and extensions for existing ones. Other major changes included new Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum "derivatives" and the withdrawal of Generalized System of Preferences benefits for many goods from Thailand In all, 13 revisions were issued prior to the mid-year Revision 14, as follows:

A coalition of domestic manufacturers filed a petition on June 30 with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping duties on seamless refined copper pipe and tube from Vietnam. Commerce will now decide whether to begin an AD duty investigation. The investigation was requested by the American Copper Tube Coalition, which consists of Mueller Group and Cerro Flow Products.

Four U.S. manufacturers seek the imposition of new antidumping and countervailing duties on standard steel welded wire mesh from Mexico, they said in a petition filed with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission June 29. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations, which could result in the imposition of permanent AD/CV duty orders and the assessment of AD and CV duties on importers.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative ought not to announce 10% tariffs on Canadian aluminum at the end of this week, just before the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement goes into force, Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., told International Trade Today in an interview. The administration has not announced its intentions, but several outlets quoted unnamed sources saying the tariffs are coming if Canada doesn't agree to voluntary restrictions on its exports.

The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of June 15-21:

Amid rising U.S.-China technology competition, Congress will continue to push for increased restrictions on inbound Chinese investment, said Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Ill. LaHood also said the Trump administration -- which has experienced success using tariffs and export controls to gain ground in trade negotiations -- will likely continue to leverage those measures, particularly against China.

Importers may want to delay filing for U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement reconciliation because the USMCA currently doesn't allow for post-entry refunds of merchandise processing fees, CBP officials said during a National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones webinar on June 16. Maya Kamar, CBP director for textiles and trade agreements, said that although the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is working with Congress for a legislative fix to the issue, CBP doesn't yet have clarity on whether such a bill will pass (see 2006050034).

Importers may want to delay filing for U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement reconciliation because the USMCA currently doesn't allow for post-entry refunds of merchandise processing fees, CBP officials said during a National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones webinar on June 16. Maya Kamar, CBP director for textiles and trade agreements, said that although the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is working with Congress for a legislative fix to the issue, CBP doesn't yet have clarity on whether such a bill will pass (see 2006050034).

The complexity of the auto rules of origin in both NAFTA and the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement are the result of what one observer calls the "political preoccupation" with retaining domestic auto manufacturing. Eric Miller, president of Rideau Potomac Strategy Group, noted that in NAFTA, that resulted in the tracing list, and in USMCA, that resulted in the labor value content and higher North American value targets, including for specific parts.