The trade pillar of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, which already was being criticized for not being ambitious enough, is not going to be finished as quickly as the pillars run by the Commerce Department on tax and corruption, supply chains and climate, the administration acknowledged as Asian leaders meet in San Francisco.

Twenty-one nongovernmental organizations, including Greenpeace, Public Citizen and Plug in America, wrote to the administration to oppose a critical minerals agreement with Indonesia that would allow Indonesian nickel to count toward content requirements in the Inflation Reduction Act for electric vehicle batteries.

Eliminating permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) with China would “leave a lasting scar” on the U.S. economy, costing each U.S. household $11,000 in real income over the period 2024 to 2028 and reducing competition and efficiency over the long term, according to a report released by the U.S.-China Business Council on Nov. 9.

Lumber Liquidators reported decreased profits in the third quarter of 2023 as a result of CBP detentions of vinyl flooring products under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, the company said in a quarterly report released Nov. 8. The detentions took $1.6 million off profit margins at the company, and, when combined with payments of antidumping and countervailing duties, turned profit growth negative for the quarter.

Even though there still are nearly two years left in the African Growth and Opportunity Act, companies that source from Africa and the countries who use AGOA tariff breaks are pushing Congress to renew the program long before the Sept. 30, 2025, deadline.

A new Silverado Policy Accelerator report says not enough attention has been paid to China's production of mature or legacy semiconductors -- a category the paper calls "foundational" -- and the authors say ceding this market to China "would have significant national and economic security implications."

Rock-it Global acquired Detroit-based Dell Will Customs Brokers, it said in a blog post on its website. The acquisition of Dell Will, which “primarily serves the motorsports and automotive manufacturing industries,” will “add to Rock-it Global’s existing customs brokerage services for the music touring, theatre, live events, sports, motorsports, and trade show verticals,” Rock-it said.

Kharon signed a contract with CBP that will give CBP enforcement officers and investigators "access" to Kharon's "global risk analytics" platform, Kharon said in a news release Oct. 18. The CBP's use of the platform will assist the agency with its "investigations that focus on the networks of foreign actors tied to forced labor and other security threats," Kharon said. CBP did not immediately respond to our request for comment.

Higher tariffs on some Chinese goods if Congress strips China of its permanent normal trade relations status would not be offset by moving production to other countries, and would instead increase prices for U.S. consumers, hurting low-income households most, according to a study released last week by the National Retail Federation.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and BusinessEurope issued a joint statement ahead of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's visit with President Joe Biden, asking them to "definitively reject protectionism," which the groups said is on the rise, due to "misinformed narratives about industrial decline." She will be in Washington Oct. 20.