The domestic textile industry, which employs about a half million people and a million less than 25 years ago, was the focus of U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai's trip this week to factories in the Carolinas. Tai met with textile executives and leaders in the National Council of Textile Organizations trade group, and, according to a summary of the Sept. 23 meeting, she said the administration wants to increase trade between the U.S. and El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. One of the factories was a thread factory -- in the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement, unlike in NAFTA, thread must be from either the U.S. or one of the CAFTA-DR countries.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said that she's still evaluating how a free trade agreement with Great Britain "could support the Biden-Harris Administration’s broader Build Back Better agenda," in a readout of her first meeting, on Sept. 20, with the new top trade official for the United Kingdom, Anne-Marie Trevelyan. Tai said she does want to deepen bilateral trade ties with the U.K. The readout also said there needs to be a durable solution to implement the trade protocols between Northern Ireland, which is technically no longer in the European Union, and Ireland, so that peace in Northern Ireland is preserved. As part of Brexit, the U.K. agreed to allow Northern Ireland to stay in the Customs Union of the EU so that the soft border between Northern Ireland and Ireland could remain, but that means that part of the U.K. is essentially a foreign country for trade purposes, so the U.K. has tried to find wiggle room in the treatment of Northern Ireland goods.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is setting fiscal year 2022 country allocations for imports under tariff-rate quotas for cane sugar and refined sugars. The FY22 import TRQ for raw cane sugar was established at 1,117,195 metric tons raw value (MTRV), the minimum amount to which the U.S. is committed under the World Trade Organization (WTO) Uruguay Round Agreements (see [Ref:2109100027]). The USTR now allocates this TRQ among supplying countries and customs areas, as follows: Argentina 45,281; Australia 87,402; Barbados 7,371; Belize 11,584; Bolivia 8,424; Brazil 152,691; Colombia 25,273; Congo (Brazzaville) 7,258; Costa Rica 15,796; Cote d’Ivoire 7,258; Dominican Republic 185,335; Ecuador 11,584; El Salvador 27,379; Fiji 9,477; Gabon 7,258; Guatemala 50,546; Guyana 12,636; Haiti 7,258; Honduras 10,530; India 8,424; Jamaica 11,584; Madagascar 7,258; Malawi 10,530; Mauritius 12,636; Mexico 7,258; Mozambique 13,690; Nicaragua 22,114; Panama 30,538; Papua New Guinea 7,258; Paraguay 7,258; Peru 43,175; Philippines 142,160; South Africa 24,220; St. Kitts & Nevis 7,258; Swaziland 16,849; Taiwan 12,636; Thailand 14,743; Trinidad & Tobago 7,371; Uruguay 7,258; Zimbabwe 12,636.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai met with Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo Sept. 13, and in a summary of that meeting, she said she emphasized the importance of advancing workers' rights through the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, as well as using KORUS to resolve bilateral issues.
Citing unnamed sources, Bloomberg reported that the U.S. feels its leverage has faded from 25% tariffs on hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Chinese goods and 7.5% tariffs on most of the rest. So, the report said, the administration is considering initiating another Section 301 report, which would focus on the impact on American businesses from Chinese subsidization of its industry. The same story said officials are "leaning toward" reinstituting tariff exclusions on some of the products already subject to tariffs, but also said no decision has been made.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said, in a readout of a video call she had with the Business Council for International Understanding, that receiving input from workers and underserved communities in addition to business interests "will lead to more durable trade policy that helps businesses compete fairly abroad and identify new market opportunities." She talked about Trade and Investment Framework Agreements as a mechanism for identifying those opportunities, and also highlighted the tariffs that were lifted as a result of the U.S.-European Union-United Kingdom settlement of the Boeing-Airbus case.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, in a readout of an Aug. 25 call with Turkey's Trade Minister Mehmet Mus, said that she argued that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's discussions on international taxation are the best way to resolve the issues that led countries to want to impose digital services taxes. The USTR has said that 32 subheadings of Turkish imports could face tariffs if Turkey imposes a DST. The value of goods on the list imported in 2019 was $310 million.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is soliciting comments on what online platforms and physical places should be considered "notorious markets for counterfeiting and piracy." The focus of this year's report and Notorious Markets List, USTR said, is the adverse impact to manufacturing workers when goods they make are counterfeit goods. Comments are due by 11:59 pm EDT on Oct. 11.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative seeks comments on whether it should again extend 99 exclusions for COVID-19 response-related products. USTR most recently extended them in March until Sept. 30 (see 2103050052). USTR will open a docket for comments on its website Aug. 27, it said. Comments are due by 11:59 p.m. EDT Sept. 27. “Subsequent to USTR’s announcement of the extension of the 99 exclusions for COVID-19 response products in March, the spread of COVID-19 in the United States initially declined, and domestic production of certain products covered by these exclusions increased,” USTR said. “With the recent spread of the Delta variant, COVID-19 cases in the United States are increasing again. In light of these changing circumstances, including the ability of the United States to obtain certain products domestically or from other sources, USTR is requesting public comments on whether to extend particular exclusions for COVID-19 products for up to six months.” The extension could last until March 2022.
A readout of U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai's video call with the U.S.-China Business Council and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's China Center Advisory Board said that she told them that the trade relationship with China is important, and there needs to be "a thorough strategic assessment to craft resilient trade policy that supports the Administration’s efforts to create jobs, raise wages, and strengthen our communities." She "reiterated USTR’s commitment to addressing China’s unfair trade policies and non-market practices that undermine American businesses and workers." The readout made no mention of tariffs, but said the business groups talked about the "challenges and opportunities" in the China market.