After the third working group meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, members acknowledged that they're still shaping their specific asks -- but they also complained that Lighthizer has not countered where they have made requests. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., said changing the biologics exclusivity period in the new NAFTA should be "so easy."
While Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., says progress is being made in the weekly meetings with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, he said he doubts the working group and USTR will have a meeting of the minds on any of the four planks they're negotiating on in the NAFTA rewrite. The issues outstanding are enforcement, the environment, labor and the biologic drug exclusivity period.
President Donald Trump rejected implementing quotas or tariffs on imported uranium used for nuclear power plants -- a decision sure to please Canada, as it is the most significant source of U.S. imported uranium.
Freshman Democrat Stephanie Murphy of Florida is already making a name for herself on trade, both during House Ways and Means Committee hearings and through leading an effort to restrict the administration's ability to levy tariffs on national security grounds without congressional approval.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley said that although under fast track authority the administration could send the implementing bill for the NAFTA rewrite on July 9, the administration will not be doing that. "There's respect for this legislative process and the importance of Pelosi involved this process... the White House is not going to do anything without consulting with her," he said. He referred to White House Chief Economic Advisor Larry Kudlow's comments earlier that morning about the administration's plans.
Leaders of the generally pro-trade New Democrat Coalition warned the U.S. trade representative not to send an implementing bill for the new NAFTA to Congress on July 9. Rep. Derek Kilmer, chairman of the New Dems, and Rep. Gregory Meeks, co-chairman of the group's trade task force, spoke to reporters July 8 about why they sent a letter that day to USTR warning him off.
Nearly 50 organizations, individuals and countries weighed in with the Commerce Department on its proposal to incorporate an analysis of currency distortion in countervailing duty cases (see 1905240035). Some lawyers and organizations said that the proposal cannot survive a World Trade Organization challenge, that there is no consensus on how to determine government-influenced currency distortion, and that the respective responsibilities of Treasury and Commerce in the proposed rule is not clear.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has added $4 billion in European imports to its list of possible retaliatory tariffs for Airbus subsidies, and is inviting interested parties to comment at a hearing or in writing on the 89 tariff subheadings. The U.S. has now identified $25 billion in potential retaliatory tariffs. The newly proposed products include yogurt, butter, cheese, meat, whiskey, olives, fertilizers and metals, and the USTR said the new list was shaped by requests by American producers at the first public hearing (see 1905150038).
The trade group that represents companies that invest in China said it is glad China and the U.S. will "postpone further escalation of their tariff battles." The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also welcomed the news, and added, "We hope each side is now prepared to go the last mile to achieve a high-standard, comprehensive, enforceable agreement. China must commit to addressing longstanding unfair trade practices and industrial policies that prevent a level-playing field for U.S. companies. Opening markets, increasing IPR protection, and promoting fair and reciprocal opportunities in trade are in China’s own interest as it works to build a stronger and more innovative economy."
Powerful House Democrats -- including the Trade Subcommittee chairman, the majority leader and working group member Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn. -- are explicitly linking failures to enforce labor provisions in the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement and weak enforcement tools in the new NAFTA. In a letter sent to the U.S. trade representative and the labor secretary on June 27, the Colombia Monitoring Group wrote, "The situation in Colombia highlights the systemic problems we face in enforcing our trade agreements across the board. In the face of long-standing and known problems, this Administration has demonstrated no urgency in resolving them...."