The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is soliciting comments on how effective Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports have been in convincing China to change its policies "related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation" -- something USTR Katherine Tai has acknowledged the U.S. is not able to do.
The 75 amendments that will be voted on as a package with the Senate's National Defense Authorization Act include the INFORM Consumers Act, a piece of legislation that shifts more responsibility to online marketplaces to root out counterfeit goods.
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.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Sept. 26 - Oct. 2:
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
More than a dozen amendments involving trade have been proposed for the National Defense Authorization Act, a bill the Senate passes every year, and is expected to take up in a lame-duck session after the November election.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Sept. 19-25:
A senior adviser to the U.S. trade representative said that Section 301 tariffs are no longer in place to try to change Chinese economic behavior but suggested they can't be modified unless trade policymakers understand how removing them would influence the administration's desire "to move to a resilience economy away from an efficient economy."
The Housing Affordability Coalition, a new group inspired by the invitation to submit information to the government about the economic impact of Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports, is arguing that higher tariffs on such items as vinyl flooring, cabinets, light fixtures, windows and the like is contributing to higher costs for new houses.