The relationship between trade and green industrial policy is in tension, but Washington International Trade Association webinar panelists also said both supporting domestic interests and imports is unavoidable as the U.S. moves to reduce greenhouse gases.

The establishment of a “more practicable enforcement regime” for the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act “needs to be front and center” for the U.S. government, Clearway Energy Group CEO Craig Cornelius said on an earnings call Nov. 2. Speaking during a call held to discuss third quarter earnings by subsidiary Clearway Energy Inc., Cornelius said the government needs to put ports in a position to handle the “dramatic” quantities of equipment that will need to enter the country to meet climate goals and the needs of the power grid.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's John Murphy said that manufacturers are some of the biggest supporters of free trade deals because half their goods are exported.

The Alliance for Trade Enforcement, a coalition of trade associations and business groups, says the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity needs effective dispute settlement to fulfill its promise for American exporters.

The Housing Affordability Coalition, a new group inspired by the invitation to submit information to the government about the economic impact of Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports, is arguing that higher tariffs on such items as vinyl flooring, cabinets, light fixtures, windows and the like is contributing to higher costs for new houses.

Large U.S. multinationals are more pessimistic about doing business in China than they have ever been, but it's not because they have come to expect the Section 301 tariffs will never go away. Rather, the annual U.S.-China Business Council membership survey found that lockdowns to control COVID-19 are the top problem for companies doing business in China, with 96% of respondents saying the lockdowns hurt their firms, and 48% saying that there was a severe negative impact.

Correction: Richard Harper, director of government affairs at the Outdoor Industry Association, noted, during an International Trade Commission hearing, that supply chains moved out of China for outdoor goods and other types of goods (see 2207210015).

The Coalition for GSP released a new analysis of trade data that says $1.7 billion was paid in tariffs that would have been eliminated through the Generalized System of Preferences from the benefits program's expiration through the end of June. Importers who want to take advantage of GSP mark those entries as such, because their tariffs will be refunded once it is renewed.

The Alliance for American Manufacturing said more than 50,000 people have written to members of Congress asking them to pass a bill that would change antidumping and countervailing duty laws, known as Leveling the Playing Field Act 2.0, but sent emails asking people to call senators and ask them to include it in the narrower China package under consideration.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said July 18 that it hopes that members of Congress will pass funding for semiconductor chip manufacturing this week. Chief Policy Officer Neil Bradley said: “Passing this legislation to incentivize semiconductor research, design, and manufacturing in the United States will strengthen our economy and our national security. Recently, more than 240 state and local chambers of commerce and other business associations wrote to Congress urging swift action on these measures.