Solar manufacturers asked for retroactive relief on Section 301 tariffs on manufacturing equipment, buyers and producers disagreed on medical product tariffs and many manufacturers supported the equipment listed, and asked for more equipment or parts for equipment that was not identified by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative as it recommended a new round of exclusions limited to manufacturing equipment.
A bipartisan letter from the Congressional Steel Caucus urged the Commerce Department to maintain Vietnam's non-market status as part of a review that is supposed to finish next month.
A union request that the government impose a fee on Chinese-made vessels docking at U.S. ports via a Section 301 action confronting subsidization in China's shipbuilding sector (see 2404170029) was mentioned favorably by Democrats and Republicans at a House Select Committee on China hearing that covered Chinese efforts in that sector, semiconductors and drones.
Importers have paid more than $160 million in tariffs that would not have existed if the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program were in place just since the House passed its version of GSP renewal in April, according to the Renew GSP Coalition. The group, joined by more than 30 trade groups and nearly 300 firms that import goods subject to GSP, said the House bill and the Senate GSP renewal that was part of a trade package that didn't make it into the Chips Act "are a strong starting point for negotiations."
Almost 20 trade groups and a handful of companies disagreed on how to ensure supply chain resilience -- many arguing that liberalizing trade with allies is crucial to reduce the likelihood of shortages, or weaponization, but others asserted that friendshoring will undermine domestic production already under stress.
A bipartisan bill has been introduced to prevent companies that receive Chips Act funding from purchasing tools and equipment made by Chinese firms. Some of the Chips Act funding is aimed at reshoring legacy chip production, and China makes equipment to make those less-sophisticated chips. Most advanced chipmaking machinery is made in the U.S., Japan or the Netherlands.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is seeking feedback on how to deepen trade collaborations among member countries of the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity: the U.S., Barbados, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Uruguay.
House Foreign Affairs Committee member Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., during a hearing on competition with China in the Western Hemisphere, argued that the shortages experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic show that businesses should move supply chains to the Western Hemisphere.
An EPA proposed rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) would restrict the use and handling of the solvent n-methylpyrrolidone (NMP), which is used in the manufacturing and production of electronics, polymers, agricultural chemicals and petrochemical products, the agency said in a June 5 news release.
Government subsidies for domestic manufacturing in strategic sectors tend to then need trade protections, former top U.S. trade representative officials from the Trump and Biden administrations agreed.