U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, in a taped address to the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity held Oct. 10, said that his country "has taken effective actions" to address excess steel capacity, by imposing tariffs on direct and indirect steel imports from countries with overcapacity.
Joseph Barloon was confirmed to be the ambassador to the World Trade Organization in a 51-47 Senate vote Oct. 7. He was one of 108 nominees approved in that single vote. Barloon was first nominated in February. Barloon served as general counsel to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in 2019 and 2020. He had previously been nominated for the Court of International Trade, but since the nomination was 17 days before Trump left office, the nomination did not proceed.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is soliciting comments for its annual National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers, which can cover goods, services, foreign direct investment and e-commerce access. Comments are due by 11:59 p.m. EDT on Oct. 30, and should be submitted at http://www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2025-0016.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is seeking views on how the USMCA is working, as the three participating countries begin a joint review of the pact in July 2026.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is seeking comments on whether any of the 178 existing Section 301 exclusions should be extended past Nov. 29. Comments must be submitted at https://comments.USTR.gov. The portal will open Sept. 16 at 12:01 a.m. EDT and close Oct. 16 at 11:59 p.m. EDT. A list of all the products that are receiving exclusions also will be at the portal.
After two days of talks between U.S. and Chinese officials, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said that they and Chinese counterpart Vice Premier He Lifeng have a "framework" for a deal for China's Byte Dance to divest TikTok to U.S. buyers, and that deal will be completed on Sept. 19 as Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump talk about the divestiture.
The Senate Finance Committee approved Bryan Switzer to be a deputy U.S. trade representative for Asia, textiles, investment, services, and intellectual property on Sept. 4, on a 15-12 vote. The confirmation vote will be held in the full Senate.
The U.S. invoked the rapid response labor mechanism under USMCA to investigate a Mexican meat processing facility. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said that it had received a petition alleging that workers at the Alimentos Grole facility in Mexico are being denied the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. The U.S. has therefore suspended liquidation of unliquidated entries of goods from the facility.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is extending by another three months certain current exclusions to its Section 301 investigation related to U.S. trade with China.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is requesting comments that identify markets for inclusion in the 2025 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy, it said in a notice to be published Aug. 18. The Notorious Markets List identifies online and physical markets that are reported to engage in or facilitate "substantial copyright piracy or trademark counterfeiting," the notice said. Comments also are being sought about the "issue focus" for the 2025 Notorious Markets List -- the "copyright piracy of sports broadcasts," the notice said. The deadline for submitting comments is Oct. 1. "Commenters should clearly identify potentially relevant markets and the reasons why the commenter believes a market should be included in the Notorious Markets List," the notice said.