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.
A listing of recent Commerce Department antidumping and countervailing duty messages posted on CBP's website Dec. 5, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching for the listed CBP message number at CBP's ADCVD Search page.
Steel interests, steelworkers and aluminum interests mostly said that 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum should remain for Canadian and Mexican exports even after upcoming USMCA review, with exceptions among some aluminum witnesses and the Mexican steel industry.
Almost 75 House members, from both parties, asked the U.S. trade representative to hold Canada accountable for not meeting its dairy commitments under USMCA. The U.S. already brought two panels against Canada over the issue of its tariff rate quota administration, and while it won some arguments in the first dispute, Canada's fixes were ruled adequate in the second (see 2311240002).
Auto industry representatives asked the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to let the USMCA autos rule of origin continue -- or to simplify it -- while the United Autoworkers called for "complete rewrite" of the pact next year, including wage floors in all three countries in auto and parts plants and "explicit job security provisions for American workers."
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is seeking comments on the efficacy of USMCA for the automotive industry.
While apparel industry groups have gripes with USMCA, they prefer it to be preserved as it currently stands rather than risk the uncertainty of renegotiation.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable and other major voices of business said Section 232 tariffs applied to Canadian and Mexican goods that meet USMCA eligibility are a clear violation of the pact, and need to end. The business groups, which opened the second day of an Interagency hearing on what the U.S. should prioritize in next year's USMCA review, also emphasized how imports from and exports to Mexico and Canada are essential for domestic manufacturing.
Specialty crop interests testifying at the first of three days of hearings on UMSCA Dec. 3 disagreed on whether duty-free access for Mexican imports should continue, and protectionists' arguments were echoed by Global Trade Watch.
Think tank scholars and lawyers emphasized that Section 232 tariffs on Mexican and Canadian autos, steel, aluminum and lumber are engendering rancor and suspicion, and the uncertainty of future tariffs levels on Mexican and Canadian imports is a silent tax causing businesses to halt investments and expansions.