International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for May 21-25 in case they were missed.
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, the National Retail Federation and 50 other trade groups in various industries want the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to “immediately make public” the details of the process it will use to add more Chinese-sourced products to the proposed 25 percent tariffs list, they said in comments dated May 22. “We strongly believe there needs to be additional public input for any products that USTR is considering adding to the proposed list,” said the comments, which also were signed by the Consumer Technology Association, the Toy Association and the Home Furnishings Association.
The White House will resume plans to impose 25 percent tariffs on some $50 billion worth of goods from China, it announced on May 29. The announcement came slightly over a week after the Trump administration said it would put the Section 301 tariffs on hold while the U.S. and China formalize a deal between the countries (see 1805210029). A final list will be announced by June 15 and "tariffs will be imposed on those imports shortly thereafter," the White House said.
The 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion worth of goods from China will go forward, the White House announced on May 29. "The final list of covered imports will be announced by June 15, 2018, and tariffs will be imposed on those imports shortly thereafter," said the White House. The announcement comes just over a week from when the Trump administration said on May 20 it planned to put the Section 301 tariffs on hold while China and the U.S. worked on the framework of an agreement.
The Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum will continue to apply to such goods from China despite a hold on new tariffs on other products from China while trade talks continue (see 1805200002), Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on May 22. "As it relates to China, the steel and aluminum tariffs will remain in force," Mnuchin said during a hearing before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services. "Those were not part of discussions," which were focused on the proposed Section 301 tariffs, he said.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for May 14-18 in case they were missed.
Despite the Trump administration's pause (see 1805200002) in adding Section 301 tariffs on goods from China, it's too early to end efforts toward product exemptions, Baker & McKenzie lawyer Ted Murphy said in a blog post. "While this is a positive development, it is also subject to change," he said. "As a result, for now, we are recommending that companies continue to pursue exclusions just in case."
The Trump administration's decision to stop the implementation of Section 301 tariffs while the U.S. and China formalize a deal has left many wondering which country is coming out ahead. China economics expert Derek Scissors, an American Enterprise Institute scholar who briefly advised the Trump administration on the Section 301 investigation, thinks it's too early to say. "I didn’t think he would agree to a deal where we have nothing on the table. I’m shocked at that. I assume more is coming," he said. "Right now this is an IOU for a deal."
Proposed new tariffs on products from China will be put "on hold while we try to execute the framework" of a deal with China, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a May 20 interview on Fox News Sunday. "I'm pleased to report that we've made very meaningful progress and we've agreed on a framework, which is important to understand, and the framework includes their agreement to substantially reduce the trade deficit by increasing their purchasing of goods," he said.
The Section 301 tariffs list should not be used to "pick winners and losers in the free market," the American Apparel and Footwear Association announced just after the National Council of Textile Organizations testified to a review panel that it wants clothing added to the tariff list. In 2017, the U.S. imported nearly $100 billion more in apparel and textiles than it exported, the NCTO said in its submission to the panel, and Chinese exports in these categories account for about 12 percent of the overall bilateral trade deficit. China's exports are responsible for the loss of hundreds of thousands of mill and garment factory jobs, they said, and "the remaining vestiges" of the apparel industry won't ask for antidumping investigations because they are held hostage by their customers, who import the bulk of what they sell, the submission said.