President Joe Biden should "take the bold step of eliminating tariffs on shoes and other basic consumer goods through Labor Day 2022," the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America said in a March 1 letter to the president ahead of the State of Union Address. "This is one way the government can truly attack inflation successfully," the group said. "We note that some Members of Congress have called for a reduction in gas taxes, and we believe eliminating import taxes should be part of that conversation."

President Joe Biden signed an executive order Feb. 21 that prohibits imports of goods or services from the Luhansk and Donetsk regions of Ukraine.

A center-right think tank noted that with the International Trade Commission saying safeguard tariffs on imported solar panels and cells should continue, and the Department of Justice appealing a ruling that tariffs on bifacial solar panels weren't legal, the White House is likely to continue the safeguard tariffs past the original February expiration date. The American Action Forum said Jan. 14 that is a poor choice, with the U.S. paying twice as much for solar panels as other countries as a result. "Utility-scale bifacial solar modules are the most important for President Biden’s climate agenda because they are the most efficient and will be increasingly used in large utility-scale energy projects. Despite the years of tariffs intended to boost domestic production of these utility-scale solar modules, they are still not manufactured in the United States."

A senior administration official, speaking on background to reporters Jan. 10, said Ethiopia could possibly return to the African Growth and Opportunity Act preference program before next January if "positive and constructive steps" are taken to resolve the civil conflict in that country. "But we would need to see significantly more progress on the concerns that led to the termination in the first place in order to go down that road," the official said.

A White House action plan to combat human trafficking, which tackles forced labor both in the U.S. and abroad, includes a "priority action" to coordinate and cooperate with other countries' law enforcement bodies to investigate and prosecute perpetrators of human trafficking on fishing vessels and in "the potential risk areas throughout the seafood supply chain, such as shore-based processing operations." The plan also says that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will continue to encourage other countries to put in place bans on imports of goods made with forced labor, as it did through the NAFTA rewrite. USTR Katherine Tai said in a release noting the plan's goals, "At USTR, we will use the power of trade to be a force for good and will continue to address forced labor and human trafficking in global supply chains." Government agencies will continue to work to promote federal resources on how to avoid forced labor in supply chains to companies. "Facilitated discussions will include both general information sessions and deeper discussions to address specific challenges and opportunities in the various industries," the plan said.

The White House, in a blog post that noted some wins for easing port congestion, said Congress should provide the Federal Maritime Commission with "an updated toolbox to protect exporters, importers, and consumers from unfair practices." It said that the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, a bipartisan bill introduced in the House in August (see 2108100011), "includes good first steps towards the type of longer-term reform to shipping laws that would strengthen America’s global competitiveness."

China dwelled on trade more than the U.S. did in the countries' respective summaries of the more than three-hour call between their presidents. But one think-tank author said China would like the tariffs to go away, "but will not pay too much to make it happen."

The Biden administration will allow increased flexibility for existing port grants and support new pop-up container yards for the Port of Savannah as part of a new Biden-Harris Action Plan for America’s Ports and Waterways announced in a fact sheet Nov. 9. The plan “will mobilize federal agencies and lay the foundation for successful implementation of the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal,” which includes $17 billion in funding to improve supply chain infrastructure, the White House said.

The Commerce and State departments will jointly oversee an “early alert system” to better manage potential semiconductor supply chain disruptions “linked to public health developments in key trading partners,” the White House said Sept. 23. The alert system, announced after the administration met with semiconductor industry representatives to discuss supply chain issues, will allow the government to better anticipate and detect supply chain issues and increase engagement with foreign governments and industry, the White House said.

John Porcari, a Transportation Department deputy secretary and chief operating officer during the Obama administration, has been named port envoy to the Biden administration's Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force. Porcari, who was Maryland's transportation secretary and chairman of the Maryland Port Commission before joining the federal government, has been working in the private sector in recent years, including leading the U.S. division of an Israeli company that sells artificial intelligence solutions for traffic congestion.