President Joe Biden signed the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade First Agreement Implementation Act into law Aug. 7 but said there are constitutional concerns with language that would require the U.S. trade representative to provide negotiating texts to the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees "in the midst of negotiations," and would also preclude USTR from presenting its text to Taiwan while Congress is reviewing it.

The White House said the U.S. and Mongolia are exploring opportunities to increase trade. A joint statement with Mongolia said they want to "pursue opportunities for cooperation in the mineral resources sector, clean energy, food security, and the digital economy through existing and new mechanisms, including for capacity building and trade promotion."

Cobalt, graphite, lithium, manganese or nickel that is mined or processed in the U.K. will be able to count toward the location requirements for electric vehicles' batteries' critical mineral sourcing under the Inflation Reduction Act tax credits, if negotiations are successful, the White House announced June 8, during the British prime minister's visit to the president.

The U.S., Japan, the EU, Canada and the U.K. said that stronger rules are needed to tackle market distortive policies, saying in a statement that with more of these, and "practices to reinforce vulnerabilities," the countries in the G-7 "need to make effective use of existing means while developing new tools as appropriate."

During a press briefing ahead of the visit to Washington of Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., a senior administration official said there will be a partnership on critical minerals announced during the visit. The official said there will be U.S. aid to support minerals processing in the Philippines. "This will be linked to electric vehicle components and ICT equipment," the official said.

The Inflation Reduction Act will encourage the building of "a clean energy manufacturing ecosystem, rooted in supply chains here in North America and extending to Europe, Japan and elsewhere," National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a speech April 27 in Washington. "This is how we will turn the IRA from a source of friction to a source of strength and reliability."

As drug traffickers shift strategies to get fentanyl into the American black market, the White House says it is working to stop the deadly pills and powders from reaching customers. Previously, the U.S. used the STOP Act to stop small packages containing fentanyl from China; now most mailed fentanyl is already inside the country, and is being mailed from Southwest states, the administration said.

The administration would like to spend $24 million more for the industry and analysis section of the International Trade Administration, and $9 million more for enforcement and compliance, according to a detailed budget request released March 13. The ITA request also includes $5 million to help Treasury in "scoping and implementing" an outbound investment review program (see 2303090061).

A senior administration official previewing a visit from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that began March 3 said that if Scholz brings up the issues that Europe has with the Inflation Reduction Act, President Joe Biden will say the U.S. is consulting closely on implementation and on Europe's own planned green transition incentive programs.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will meet with President Joe Biden March 10, and will discuss "U.S.-EU coordination to combat the climate crisis through investing in clean technology based on secure supply chains," the White House said March 2.