A Mexican government account tweeted, and then deleted a tweet hailing a victory in the state-to-state dispute with the U.S. over the American interpretation of the auto rules of origin, Reuters reported. The panel's conclusions were shared last month with Canada, Mexico and the U.S., and the three countries had submitted their responses Nov. 29, according to the docket, but the report has not been made public yet.
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.
Two former government officials, one a leader at a think tank, the other a lawyer at Akin Gump, acknowledge that even as businesses continue to believe quitting the Trans-Pacific Partnership was a tactical error, "there is no conceivable scenario in which the United States could sign onto the [Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for] TPP as it exists today. Strong opposition from both sides of the political spectrum to key elements of the deal would prevent congressional approval."
A proposal by the U.S. to the EU on how to structure trade preferences for clean, fairly traded steel and aluminum says that members of a global climate club would agree that when they exported steel or aluminum to other member countries, if their plants were at or below the importer's plant emission standards, they would enter with no tariffs, but if their plants were above the standards, they would have to pay a carbon tax.
In a briefing to members of the European Parliament, the European Commission's top trade official, Valdis Dombrovskis, said he expects the negotiations with the U.S. over the discriminatory aspects of the Inflation Reduction Act to partially, but not fully, resolve EU concerns.
A U.S. readout of a trade meeting with Bangladesh said that Bangladesh would like to return to the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program -- which has been expired for two years. Bangladesh was cut from the program in 2013, after the disastrous Rana Plaza apparel factory collapse that killed more than 1,000 workers. In the last year it participated, Bangladesh exported almost $35 million worth of goods covered by GSP; it was not in the top 20 countries, as the bulk of Bangladesh's exports to the U.S. are textiles, apparel and footwear, none of which are covered by GSP.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., asked CBP how it will "ensure that no solar panels or solar panel components are imported directly or indirectly from ... [China] that are tainted by Uyghur forced labor?"
The top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee said Republican and Democratic staff on the committee "haven’t had extensive discussions on GSP and MTB, and won't, my sense is, as long as there’s an insistence on [linking them to renewing] Trade Adjustment Assistance."
Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., speaking at an event hosted by Punchbowl News, asserted he will be the next chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, not Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla.
The House-Senate compromise defense bill does not include the Inform Consumers Act, an amendment that was part of the Senate bill, which would have required that high-volume sellers online be identified and reachable. Trade groups that represent intellectual property rights holders had hoped that the bill would become law this year since it had been part of a different House package and was in the Senate bill (see 2210260087).
While it's not yet clear if Democrats and Republicans can agree on whether the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program and Miscellaneous Tariff Bill will advance this month, House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., says he's not for the proposal to offer a partial refund while importers wait for GSP renewal. The preferences program will have been expired for two years if it does not get renewed this month. He said, "We had a nice conversation with [U.S. Trade Representative] Katherine Tai this morning. We know [renewal] should happen, and we hope it does."