Officials from South Korea, Japan and the Biden administration met in Hawaii, the White House said Feb. 28, and talked about how to increase supply chain resilience "in semiconductors, batteries, and critical minerals." The officials also talked about how to coordinate on measures to protect sensitive technologies, the readout said.

At the end of a White House visit by Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, the two countries issued a joint statement that primarily focused on security issues but touched on trade. "We will build resilience in our societies and supply chains among like-minded partners against threats such as economic coercion, non-market policies and practices and natural disasters, accelerate global efforts to tackle the climate crisis, and advance data free flow with trust," they said. "The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) is at the center of achieving these goals."

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, at a joint press conference with President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said that the three countries are "creating a joint committee aimed at planning and substituting imports in North America so that we may try to be increasingly self-sufficient in this part of the world and to turn development cooperation into a reality, as well as the well-being of all the countries of our continent. We want that to be a reality."

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and its analogues in Canada and Mexico asked the three countries' leaders to work on "a quick resolution" of disputes over Mexican energy policies, Canadian dairy tariff-rate quotas and the U.S. position on the auto rules of origin.

African government officials, who will be coming to Washington next week for a summit, will be telling the administration what they would like to see in the renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, according to senior administration officials, speaking on background to reporters Dec. 8.

The U.S. is looking to make progress on trade facilitation, agriculture, and regulatory practices at the upcoming Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) meeting in Brisbane on Dec. 10, senior administration officials said during a Dec. 7 call with reporters. Brisbane will be the first of several negotiation rounds conducted in-person.

President Joe Biden signed into law Dec. 2 a bill that forces all 12 railroad unions to accept the terms of a contract negotiated by their leaders, with an assist from the administration. Since the negotiations concluded in September, four unions had rejected the contract's terms. The law will prevent a nationwide rail shutdown. If any workers choose to strike now, it would be a wildcat strike, which means they would have no job protections.

Exports from Burkina Faso will no longer qualify for the African Growth and Opportunity Act benefits next year, the White House notified Congress Nov. 2.

The U.S. and the EU created a U.S.-EU Task Force "to continue promoting deeper understanding of the [Inflation Reduction Act]’s meaningful progress on lowering costs for families, our shared climate goals, and opportunities and concerns for EU producers."

On Oct. 10, President Joe Biden signed into law a temporary change to the 13.6% tariff plus $1.035/kg tariff on base powder that's an input to baby formula (see 2209290068). The tariffs go to zero through Dec. 31, 2022. The change is aimed at increasing domestic production of baby formula, as there are still shortages after a major domestic producer closed for months. The duty-free eligibility is limited to the first 2,600 metric tons imported.