The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is soliciting comments for its annual National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers, which can cover goods, services, foreign direct investment and e-commerce access. Comments are due by Oct. 17, and should be submitted at http://www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2024-0015.
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Pennsylvania's two senators asked the government to lower the Section 232 quota for South Korean oil country tubular goods, as was done during the coronavirus pandemic.
The U.S. has asked Canada for formal consultations on the 3% digital services tax on revenues of large social media platforms, e-commerce platforms and other companies that target advertising or collect data from Canadian customers.
Higher or new Section 301 action on Chinese goods such as batteries, EVs, plug-in hybrids, ship-to-shore cranes, solar cells and panels, syringes, needles, critical minerals, some metals will not go up until at least September, as the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has missed a second self-imposed deadline. The proposed changes, first announced in May, said some tariffs would go up on Aug. 1, but on July 30, the office said it had not finished responding to more than 1,100 comments, and it would make a final determination in August (see 2407300047).
USDA and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative are accepting applications for new members to sit on agricultural trade advisory committees, the agencies said this week. Applications are being accepted for six Agricultural Technical Advisory Committees -- covering animals, fruits and vegetables, grains and more -- as well as the Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee, which advises the administration on the implementation and enforcement of trade agreements and trade policy. Members serve four-year terms without compensation. Applications are due by 5 p.m. EDT Sept. 20.
The U.S. said that U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng talked dairy market access, trade in softwood lumber, and cooperation in USMCA. "Tai welcomed Canada’s recent announcement concerning electric vehicles, steel, and aluminum. The two ministers also discussed their shared commitment to strengthening North American supply chain resilience, especially for electric vehicles, and stressed the importance of collaboration on issues related to non-market policies and practices of other countries," the U.S. readout said. Canada's readout said: "Minister Ng raised the issue of U.S. duties on Canadian softwood lumber products and discussed the need to move forward in a mutually beneficial manner that would create greater predictability and stability in the forestry sectors of both countries."
With a dispute panel about to form at the World Trade Organization over China's complaints that Inflation Reduction Act tax provisions violate nondiscrimination principles (see 2403260036), the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is asking for comments on either the policies or China's assertions.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies "Trade Guys" said that while there is some pressure on Congress to get the Generalized Systems of Preferences benefits program renewed, and restrict de minimis, competing pressures make it unlikely bills will become law this year.
USDA this month announced its roster of 55 industry officials who will serve across seven agricultural trade advisory committees (ATAC) until 2028. The groups help advise both USDA and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on trade policy or provide technical advice and guidance “from the perspective of their specific product sectors,” the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service said in a press release. The groups include the Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee as well as committees focusing on animals and animal products; fruits and vegetables; grains and seeds; processed foods; sweeteners and sweetener products; and tobacco, cotton, peanuts and hemp.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is amending two exclusions from Section 301 tariffs to conform the tariff numbers in the descriptions of the exclusions to recent tariff schedule changes, it said in an Aug. 6 notice. The affected exclusions are found at U.S. Notes 20(vvv)(iv)(10) and 20(vvv)(iv)(11) to subchapter III of Chapter 99. The conforming amendments are effective July 1.