The U.S. trade representative's proposal to simplify bringing antidumping and countervailing duty complaints on produce could have several unintended consequences, according to Darci Vetter, a former chief agricultural negotiator at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. One of the U.S. proposals for NAFTA 2.0 is to allow producers in a certain region -- say, Florida tomato growers -- bring an AD/CVD complaint during their crop season, rather than requiring that 51 percent of all growers nationwide sign on to the complaint (see 1709130031). Vetter spoke March 8 at a Georgetown Law School event.
Mara Lee
Mara Lee, Senior Editor, is a reporter for International Trade Today and its sister publications Export Compliance Daily and Trade Law Daily. She joined the Warren Communications News staff in early 2018, after covering health policy, Midwestern Congressional delegations, and the Connecticut economy, insurance and manufacturing sectors for the Hartford Courant, the nation’s oldest continuously published newspaper (established 1674). Before arriving in Washington D.C. to cover Congress in 2005, she worked in Ohio, where she witnessed fervent presidential campaigning every four years.
Raising the NAFTA rules of origin to 80 percent could be counterproductive, said House Ways and Means ranking member Sander Levin, D-Mich., whose district includes Detroit suburbs. "If you raise it to 80 percent, it may well be that more and more of the content will be made in Mexico," Levin said at a March 8 Georgetown Law School event. "As important as the rule of origin is, I've been trying ardently to elevate this issue of the total [trade] imbalance."
The House Homeland Security Committee recommended a bill that requires the Department of Homeland Security to do a comprehensive review and security assessment of the Transportation Security Administration's Known Shipper program. The Air Cargo Security Act, H.R. 4176, asks if the program should be eliminated, "considering the full implementation of 100 percent screening." The House bill directs TSA to establish an air cargo security division with at least four employees, but says those people would have to come from within the agency's existing staffing.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said that Mexico, Canada and other countries may avoid the soon-to-be-announced tariffs on steel and aluminum. "There are potential carve-outs for Mexico and Canada based on national security, and possibly other countries as well based on that process," she said during a March 7 press briefing. President Donald Trump is still expected to "sign something by the end of the week," she said.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell broke his silence on steel and aluminum tariffs, which have sparked strong reactions from Republicans in both chambers since the surprise announcement last week (see 1803010029). "There is a lot of concern among Republican senators that this could metastasize into a larger trade war, and many of our members are discussing with the administration just how broad, how sweeping this might be," he said at a news conference March 6. He noted that President Donald Trump has suggested an exemption for Canada and Mexico might be tied to concessions in NAFTA renegotiations. "From a Kentucky point of view, NAFTA's been a big one, we've benefited from it in every way," the senator from Kentucky added. McConnell said that if the tariffs create disruption, "it could send our economy in the wrong direction."
CBP needs more authority to combat counterfeiters, an agency executive told the Senate Finance Committee March 6. But Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner in the Office of Trade, said it would take a few months of consultation with the private sector to say exactly what's needed. Ranking member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., pressed Smith for a deadline, and when she demurred, asked her to report back within 60 days. "I will do my best," she responded.
Canada's Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and Mexico's Economy Secretary Ildefonso Guajardo expressed optimism that their countries and the U.S. will be able to reach an agreement that can be sold to the public in all three countries, while U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer sounded a more cautionary note at a joint press conference at the end of the seventh round of negotiations in Mexico City. "I fear the longer we proceed the more political headwinds we will feel," Lighthizer said March 5.
President Donald Trump tweeted March 5 that he won't exempt Mexico and Canada from steel and aluminum tariffs unless the U.S. gets its way at the NAFTA negotiating table. The tweets came on the last day of round 7 of the NAFTA talks. "NAFTA, which is under renegotiation right now, has been a bad deal for U.S.A. Massive relocation of companies & jobs. Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum will only come off if new & fair NAFTA agreement is signed. Also, Canada must treat our farmers much better. Highly restrictive. Mexico must do much more on stopping drugs from pouring into the U.S. They have not done what needs to be done. Millions of people addicted and dying," Trump wrote.
Following President Trump's signaling of across the board tariffs on imported steel and aluminum (see 1803010029), exactly how Canadian steel fits in is among the major unanswered questions. Canada said in a March 1 statement that "as the number one customer of American steel, Canada would view any trade restrictions on Canadian steel and aluminum as absolutely unacceptable." The Defense Department has also said Canadian steel should not face Section 232 tariffs (see 1802230018).
The U.S. will impose a 25 percent duty on all foreign steel and a 10 percent duty on imported aluminum, President Donald Trump announced March 1. "It'll be for a long period of time. We’ll be signing it next week. And you’ll have protection for a long time in a while. What's been allowed to go on for decades is disgraceful."