The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said further decoupling from China is certain if China doesn't do more to step up on industrial subsidies, intellectual property rights protection, trade secret theft and other U.S. companies' priorities. Myron Brilliant, head of international affairs for the Chamber, told reporters on a Jan. 13 call that there's not much political space for incoming President Joe Biden to roll back tariffs, even as his campaign was critical of the economic consequences of the trade war.
The United Steelworkers, the Steel Manufacturers Association, the American Iron and Steel Institute and two other trade groups wrote to President-elect Joe Biden on Jan. 11, telling him that weakening or removing 25% tariffs and quotas on imported steel “before major steel producing countries eliminate their overcapacity and the subsidies and other trade-distorting policies that have fueled the steel crisis will only invite a new surge in imports with devastating effects to domestic steel producers and their workers.” The letter said the Section 232 tariffs allowed idled mills to reopen and laid-off workers to regain their jobs. “Continuation of the tariffs and quotas is essential to ensuring the viability of the domestic steel industry in the face of ... massive and growing excess steel capacity,” they said, pointing to China, Vietnam and Turkey as countries that did not slow down steel production during the COVID-19 pandemic-induced recession.
China issued guidance on its free trade deal with Mauritius (see 2012180017), which took effect Jan. 1 and is expected to eliminate tariffs on more than 90% of goods traded between the two countries, China said. The agreement will “play an active role” in improving cooperation between China and Africa, and Chinese companies will “gain more advantages” when entering the African market, according to an unofficial translation of the guidance.
Wendy Cutler, the lead negotiator for the Trans Pacific Partnership, and James Green, who was the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's senior official in China, are questioning whether a new European Union-China investment agreement will undercut the united front President-elect Joe Biden wants on Chinese economic abuses.
The United Kingdom and Turkey signed a free trade agreement that will maintain existing preferential tariff levels and ensure trade continues as usual after the Brexit transition period ends, the U.K. said Dec. 29. The U.K. also said the accord lays the “groundwork for a more ambitious trade relationship” with both sides committed to working on a more comprehensive free trade agreement.
Witnesses overwhelmingly argued against tariffs on Vietnamese imports, during a virtual hearing Dec. 29 hosted by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, with numerous business representatives saying it was the choice not to sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership, not any kind of currency issue, that makes it harder for U.S. exports to penetrate Vietnam. Trade groups representing importers from Vietnam noted that their members moved sourcing from China to Vietnam precisely to avoid Section 301 tariffs, and some said putting comparable tariffs on Vietnamese imports would cause companies to relocate back to China.
The United Kingdom and Canada agreed to transitional measures to maintain the flow of goods after the U.K. leaves the European Union Jan. 1, the U.K. said Dec. 22. The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding that will maintain tariff-free trade for companies exporting goods that are eligible for preferential treatment under the UK-Canada Trade Continuity Agreement (TCA), which is expected to take effect early in 2021, the U.K. said. The MOU will also maintain tariff rate quotas and rules of origin for products covered under the TCA.
In an interview with the BBC, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said that finishing the U.S.-United Kingdom free trade deal should be palatable to the next administration, with its language around labor standards and climate change, but U.K. resistance on agriculture standards is one of the obstacles to getting it finished in the next month. “We're both leaders in the world on digital trade, on financial services. And I think we could do an awful lot to write the rules together, the best rules together,” he said, according to a story published Dec. 17. “There's a short period of time they're going to have to try to wrap this up. But I think it's something that can happen. It'll require compromise on both sides.”
A small deal that would restore India's Generalized System of Preferences benefits is something that U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal have made headway on, Lighthizer said while speaking to the Confederation of Indian Industry. “My guess is we are not far away from a deal like that. Keep in mind, obviously, we have a political change going on over here and that’s going to be a bit of a setback, certainly, to the extent that I can facilitate that, which I would be happy to do it, but there is going to be some changes and my guess is that is going to slow things up,” he said Dec. 16 during an online interview.
The talks to open up Brazil's market to U.S. ethanol (see 2010200018) have failed, domestic ethanol groups said, calling it “a dramatic turn in our bilateral trade relationship.” The U.S. Grains Council, the Renewable Fuels Association, the National Corn Growers Association and Growth Energy put out a joint statement Dec. 16: “Brazilian ethanol receives unfettered access into the U.S. market, while U.S. producers are denied reciprocal market access due to a restrictive import tariff designed solely to make U.S. product less competitive,” the groups said. “We urge the incoming [Joe] Biden Administration to respond with strength, leveraging various U.S. government tools and authorities to make it clear that protectionist barriers are unacceptable.” They said that Brazil exported about 96 million gallons of ethanol to the U.S. since May, and the U.S. has only exported about 4 million gallons under the previous tariff rate quota regime.