The World Trade Organization published the agenda for the Jan. 27 meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body. It includes U.S. status reports on the implementation of DSB recommendations on antidumping measures on certain hot-rolled steel products from Japan; antidumping and countervailing measures on large residential washers from South Korea; certain methodologies and their application to antidumping proceedings involving China; antidumping and countervailing duties on ripe olives from Spain; and Section 110(5) of the U.S. Copyright Act. A status report also is expected from Indonesia on measures related to the import of horticultural products, animals and animal products; and from the EU on measures affecting the approval and marketing of biotech products, and on safeguard measures on certain steel products.
The Commerce Department published its fall 2022 regulatory agenda for the Bureau of Industry and Security, including one new rule that will finalize new chip export controls against China and others that could revise chemical weapons reporting requirements, the Export Administration Regulations and the Entity List.
Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., one of the leading voices for free trade in the Democratic caucus, and Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., a free-trade purist in the Republican caucus, issued a joint paper of recommendations on trade on Dec. 29, just before they were both leaving office.
China took to the World Trade Organization Dec. 12 to challenge U.S. export control measures on semiconductor chips and other products, an official at China's Ministry of Commerce said, according to an unofficial translation. China referred the export restrictions to the trade body's dispute settlement mechanism, claiming the U.S. has been "generalizing the concept of national security."
The World Trade Organization issued a series of four rulings Dec. 9 finding that the U.S. Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs set by President Donald Trump violated global trade rules. In the landmark rulings, a three-person panel found that the duties violated Articles I, II, XI and XXI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. The dispute panel said the tariffs, which the Trump administration said were needed to maintain U.S. national security, were not "taken in time of war or other emergency in international relations," as mandated by Article XXI(b)(iii) of national security protections, so the duties violate the GATT.
A shipment of lamb from the U.K. was exported to the U.S. for the first time in over 20 years, Britain's Department for International Trade said. In 2021, USDA agreed to allow British lamb to enter the American market, given that the needed inspections were carried out. This week, a shipment of lamb from meat processors Dunbia in Wales was flown to the U.S.
Tax credits for electric vehicles made in North America -- an element of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act -- deals a "body-blow" to the World Trade Organization beyond anything doled out under the previous administration, John Magnus, president of Tradewins, said in a post on the International Economic Law and Policy Blog. The tax credit "clearly signals" that the government does not weigh WTO-consistency when making policy decisions, and anyone concerned about the legitimacy of the world's largest multilateral trade organization should be concerned since the U.S. widened the prospect of flouting the WTO's rules, the blog post said.
The U.S. should consider new export controls on items used in rare earth magnet production, which could aid domestic rare earth producers, the Commerce Department said in a report this week. The report, part of a Section 232 investigation into the effects of neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) permanent magnets on national security, said export controls could dissuade U.S. suppliers from shipping rare earths out of the U.S. The administration should “evaluate the use of export controls for domestic producers who face difficulties acquiring feedstocks from domestic sources due to competition with foreign consumers.”
Mexico recently postponed a planned tariff reduction on certain imported steel products, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported July 11. The country had planned a series of staggered duty reductions for the steel goods starting June 30, but Mexico delayed one of the dates to June 1, 2023, the report said. On that date, Mexico will reduce duties on certain steel products from 15% to 10%. Other planned duty reductions are expected to continue on schedule, HKTDC said.
The Commerce Department published its spring 2022 regulatory agenda for the Bureau of Industry and Security, including two new mentions of rules that could result in new emerging technology export controls.