The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, in a Federal Register notice published Oct. 26, asked for applications from people who would like to serve on panels that review final determinations in antidumping or countervailing duty proceedings and amendments to AD/CVD statutes of a USMCA Party. These people would be on the roster from April 1, 2023, through March 31, 2024. Applications are due by Nov. 30, and can be submitted at www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2022-0015.
The U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council will next meet on Dec. 5. The two sides announced this week. The council’s third meeting will be held in the Washington, D.C., area and comes after the second meeting, held in May in Paris, where the two sides agreed to several export control and investment screening initiatives (see 2205160033).
Six Republican and four Democratic senators are asking U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai if she is meeting the legal requirement to consult with Congress before the U.S. commits to an intellectual property waiver related to the pandemic, a topic of discussion at the World Trade Organization.
Although President Joe Biden criticized the Trump administration tariffs on Chinese imports during his campaign, and although his treasury secretary repeatedly said they contribute to inflation and some of them are harmful, trade lobbyists for UPS and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said the tariffs are largely here to stay.
Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, who is retiring from Congress at year's end, told an audience at the Center for Strategic and International Studies that he was disappointed there were no trade items in the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science (CHIPS) Act. "But I’m ready to negotiate a grand bargain on trade in this lame-duck session," he said in a video address Oct. 17. Portman was scheduled to participate in a roundtable of former U.S. trade representatives but was traveling overseas on an official congressional trip.
The State Department is seeking public comments on steps it can take to combat international deforestation, including by removing commodities grown on deforested lands from agricultural supply chains. The agency hopes the recommendations lead to proposed legislation as it looks to implement an executive order on strengthening the U.S.’s forests. Comments, requested this week, are due Dec. 2.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai drew a distinction between 35% tariffs on Russian goods, which she said are designed to punish that country's war of aggression, and 25% (or 7.5%) tariffs on Chinese goods, which she said are not punishing tariffs.
Florida lawmakers who have asked U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to start a Section 301 investigation on unfair support for Mexican produce exports are forum shopping after "prior U.S. government investigations have found that Mexican imports have not injured that segment of the U.S. industry," wrote 24 trade groups, mostly agriculture exporters, but also the National Retail Federation and Retail Industry Leaders Association.
Having received no requests to testify on Russia's fulfillment of its international trade commitments as a World Trade Organization member, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a notice it's canceling the planned Oct. 4 virtual public hearing on Russia's compliance, meant to inform USTR's report to Congress.
African Growth and Opportunity Act benefits for Kenya need to continue as any trade partnership is formed, commenters said, especially the third-country fabric rule of origin.