Former Mexican Ambassador to the U.S. Martha Bárcena said that she has been told that the U.S. will not comply with the panel ruling that said that rollup was understood to be part of the automotive rule of origin (see 2403070067), and she said that is undermining USMCA. She said that's because both the Republicans and the Democrats are fighting for the political support of the United Autoworkers and Teamsters. (The autoworkers' union characterizes rollup as watering down the requirement for North American content in vehicles).
Virginia Lenahan was named the chief international trade counsel on the Senate Finance Committee’s majority staff, committee Chair Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., announced in an Oct. 3 emailed news release. Since joining the committee in 2019 as a trade counsel, Lenahan has worked on issues related to USMCA, the Inflation Reduction Act and more.
House Ways and Means Committee members Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, and Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., led some fellow committee members and other House members in asking U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to brief them on the status of the dispute over Mexico's policy on genetically modified corn, and how that might affect the 2026 review of the USMCA.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, in responses to Senate Finance Committee members, talked about changes needed in USMCA, declined to endorse a permanent e-commerce tariff moratorium and called for more money for CBP, to address Section 301 tariff circumvention.
Advocating for a bipartisan bill introduced by Southwestern lawmakers to direct certain fees to land port expansions, equipment investments and staffing was the top priority for customs brokers in town to lobby as part of the group's annual government affairs conference.
A bipartisan group of senators, led by Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., have introduced a bill that would prohibit entry into the U.S. of both cargo and passenger ships that call on a port that was expropriated. Passenger ships are described as those that carry at least 149 people, with sleeping quarters. It also requires the U.S. trade representative to report to Congress on what the U.S. position will be during USMCA review on such expropriations.
During this week's Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) quarterly meeting on Sept. 18, the group's subcommittees offered updates on their activities between June, when COAC last met (see 2406270054), and September.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
A bipartisan group of 10 House members, led by Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., is asking U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to engage with Mexico's leaders on that country's constitutional reforms.
The U.S. has suspended liquidation for goods exported from Minera Camino Rojo, a mine in Zacatecas, after deciding a petition from Mineros, a mining union, had merit. The petition said that managers undermined worker support for Mineros and promoted the idea of joining a different mining union. This is the 27th time the U.S. has invoked the USMCA rapid response labor mechanism; all cases have been settled without a removal of tariff benefits.