Mara Lee

A bill that would allow harbor maintenance spending to go forward outside the appropriations process, as long as there is money in the Harbor Maintenance Fund, passed the House of Representatives the evening of Oct. 28, 296-109, but faces an uncertain future in the Senate.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross responded to Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Ind., complaining that her latest letter is wrong to say that his department has not provided "a substantive and comprehensive response" to her earlier questions and complaints about the Section 232 exclusion process.

The idea that the U.S. might lower de minimis for Canadian and Mexican shipments, because those countries did not raise their thresholds as much as the U.S. wanted, is not going to be part of the NAFTA rewrite, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Oct. 29.

The National Council of Textile Organizations, concerned that de minimis imports of apparel are undercutting apparel imports from the Western Hemisphere, is asking CBP to undertake a detailed analysis of de minimis shipments, and release the results publicly. The trade group cares if Mexican, Haitian and Central American apparel makers are losing ground because those countries' factories import U.S.-made fiber, yarn and fabrics. "Textile and apparel products are uniquely positioned to enter as de minimis shipments as apparel and other sewn products routinely sell for under $800 and represent over 40 percent of CBP's duty collections," NCTO said.

In a sign that tariff negotiations with China will continue into 2020, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will publish a notice in the Federal Register this week asking for comments on whether the first set of tariff exclusions on Chinese imports on List 1, set to expire Dec. 28, should last another year. The Docket Number is USTR-2019-0019.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, as part of a broader announcement on changes to the Generalized System of Preferences, announced late Oct. 25 that about a third of Thailand's GSP-covered trade will exit the preferences program April 25, 2020, because it does not allow its workers to participate in collective bargaining and other labor rights, despite six years of engagement. The USTR said all seafood products are being removed from the program because of abuses of workers in that industry and in shipping; other products were chosen because Thai imports are a small share of the U.S. imports, but the U.S. is relatively important for Thai exporters. In all, GSP imports from Thailand were $4.4 billion last year, USTR said; after India's exclusion from the program earlier this year, Thailand accounted for the highest volume of exports qualifying for GSP. Even with the reduction, it will still be the largest beneficiary. The Associated Press reported Oct. 28 that Thai officials will seek to talk about averting the eligibility changes.

Vice President Mike Pence, even as he called China "a strategic and economic rival," said that the U.S. wants to keep talking after the phase 1 trade deal is done, in order "to bring about long-overdue structural reforms in our economic relationship. And as I heard again from him this morning, President Trump remains optimistic that an agreement can be reached."

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said the changes to the auto rules of origin in the new NAFTA -- which include a wage floor for a proportion of the parts workers or assembly workers -- don't impress the United Auto Workers union.

President Donald Trump, speaking at a fracking conference in Pennsylvania, first said that Democrats don't want to put the NAFTA rewrite up for a vote, then said, "But I think they're going to put it up because everybody wants it, and I think ultimately, they're going to do the right thing."

Some members of the Democrat working group tasked with getting edits to the new NAFTA said it's going well after the latest meeting, but others emphasized how delicate it is, and how parsing the words is essential to satisfying Democrats' concerns with the deal.