Witnesses overwhelmingly argued against tariffs on Vietnamese imports, during a virtual hearing Dec. 29 hosted by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, with numerous business representatives saying it was the choice not to sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership, not any kind of currency issue, that makes it harder for U.S. exports to penetrate Vietnam. Trade groups representing importers from Vietnam noted that their members moved sourcing from China to Vietnam precisely to avoid Section 301 tariffs, and some said putting comparable tariffs on Vietnamese imports would cause companies to relocate back to China.
Section 301 (too broad)
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Dec. 21-24 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The 22-person witness list for the Dec. 29 virtual Section 301 investigative hearing into allegations that Vietnam deliberately undervalued its currency to thwart U.S. economic growth is stacked heavily with people on record as opposing remedial tariffs on Vietnamese imports. Prehearing submissions in docket USTR-2020-0037 foretell some will also testify that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is singling out the wrong country for Section 301 currency manipulation review and is doing so for ulterior motives.
Witnesses from the furniture and cabinet sector in both Vietnam and the U.S. argued that Vietnam has greatly improved its governance over illegal imports of tropical wood and, to whatever degree illegal imports still exist, that wood is not then exported to U.S. buyers.
The U.S. Court of International Trade granted a Department of Justice motion requesting leave to file an updated “schedule of cases” related to the first-filed HMTX Industries-Jasco Products Section 301 complaint, according to Chief Judge Timothy Stanceu's Dec. 22 order in docket 1:20-cv-00177. The motion “concerns overall case management of an unusually large volume of cases, none of which have yet been assigned to an individual Judge,” DOJ said. Roughly 3,700 cases have inundated the court, all seeking to vacate the lists 3 and 4A tariff rulemakings on Chinese imports and refunding the duties. The plaintiffs that responded to DOJ’s Sept. 23 motion (see 2009240026) for case management procedures have “generally agreed” that the cases other than the first-filed HMTX-Jasco action “should be stayed while a test-case procedure is implemented,” DOJ said. A schedule of pending cases attached to the motion was updated Dec. 22 and now spans 194 pages, and includes actions filed through Dec. 21.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative released a list of witnesses slated to testify during the Dec. 29 Section 301 hearing on Vietnam currency manipulation. The agency hasn't addressed a request from trade associations that USTR delay the hearing in order to consider a Dec. 16 Treasury Department report blasting the Vietnam government for tampering with the foreign exchange market “in a sustained, asymmetric manner,” to the detriment of U.S. interests. Treasury released the report nearly a week after the deadline passed for submitting requests to appear at the USTR hearing.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, joined by five Republicans and two Democrats on the committee, told the Office of Management and Budget that a proposed rule to carve out items under Section 301 tariffs from de minimis needs “a thorough and complete review,” including a public comment period of 60 days. However, the letter was not signed by either of the two men who might be the chairman in January, depending on which party controls the Senate.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will extend exclusions on goods used to treat COVID-19 from the Section 301 tariffs on goods from China, it said in a notice posted on the agency's website. "In light of the rising spread and ongoing efforts to combat COVID-19, the U.S. Trade Representative has determined that maintaining or re-imposing additional duties on certain products subject to the action no longer is appropriate and that the application of additional duties to these products could impact U.S. preparedness to address COVID-19," it said.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will extend exclusions on goods used to treat COVID-19 from the Section 301 tariffs on goods from China, it said in a notice posted on the agency's website. “In light of the rising spread and ongoing efforts to combat COVID-19, the U.S. Trade Representative has determined that maintaining or re-imposing additional duties on certain products subject to the action no longer is appropriate and that the application of additional duties to these products could impact U.S. preparedness to address COVID-19,” it said.
The deadline for comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative had already passed on Vietnam currency manipulation when the Treasury Department released its finding that Vietnam is a currency manipulator, and 24 trade groups are asking for the comment period to be reopened and the Dec. 29 hearing to be delayed. The groups that signed the Dec. 18 letter to USTR include the American Apparel and Footwear Association, the Retail Industry Leaders Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. USTR did not immediately comment.