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.
Section 301 China tariff changes outlined by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative May 14 will take effect approximately 90 days after a request for comments that will be issued next week. That includes a 100% tariff on Chinese-origin electric vehicles, as well as the jump to 25% Section 301 tariffs on steel and aluminum products, ship to shore cranes, lithium-ion electric vehicle batteries, battery parts for non-lithium-ion batteries, "some critical minerals" and face masks, and a bump to 50% tariffs on solar cells, syringes and needles, the White House said in a fact sheet.
Customs lawyer John Foote, speaking at the Washington International Trade Association during a panel on import bans, investments and export controls, questioned whether the Biden administration is ready to coordinate forced labor import bans with allies, given how the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act is still in its infancy.
While the U.S. should look to counter China with export controls, tariffs and outbound investment restrictions, it also needs to better incentivize trading partners to diversify their supply chains away from China, the Atlantic Council said this week.
The International Trade Commission is considering adding DigiKey as a respondent to a potential Section 337 investigation on imports of dynamic random access memory device integrated circuits, the ITC said in a notice May 6. The commission said it received an amended complaint from retired semiconductor designer Wen Lin that now seeks a cease and desist order against DigiKey in addition to Etron Technology (see 2403110040). The amended complaint still seeks a general exclusion order banning all imports that infringe on Lin's patents, regardless of source. Comments are due to the ITC by May 14.
In the first third of its first public hearing on promoting supply chain resilience, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and interagency officials heard from groups disputing the premise of the project -- that liberalizing trade was harmful to U.S. workers and manufacturing -- and from those who say the worker-centered trade approach of the Biden administration is not going far enough to restore American manufacturing.
The Foreign-Trade Zones Board issued the following notices on May 1: