The Bureau of Industry and Security is requiring public versions of all requests for Section 232 investigations that are not filed by U.S. government agencies, it said in a final rule. Beginning Sept. 24, requests containing both business confidential and classified national security information must be accompanied by public versions, with U.S. government entities exempt from the requirement. Business confidential information must also be summarized for the public, though classified national security information will not require a summary.
Trade professionals and a trade scholar, talking on a panel that compared the Trump and Biden administrations' trade policies, said that not as much has changed on trade as might have been expected. Christine McDaniel, an economist at George Mason University, said she doesn't expect any of the Section 301 tariffs or the steel and aluminum tariffs to be lifted before the end of 2021. "I haven’t seen any indication they’re going to pull back on the tariffs," she said during a seminar at the Virginia Small Business Development Center on Sept. 21. "I’ve heard people say that the Trump trade policy is just being continued by the Biden administration, minus the rhetoric. You can make the argument for that."
Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., introduced a bill that would offer the more generous unemployment and retraining benefits under Trade Adjustment Assistance to people who lost their jobs because their companies' exports declined after retaliatory tariffs. The bill, whose text was published Sept. 20, says the retaliation could be as a result of tariffs under Section 232, Section 301 or the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Currently, TAA covers job loss due to import competition in goods and services.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Sept. 7-10 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security “will not be extending the effective windows of Granted Exclusions with shipments impacted by Hurricane Ida at this time,” a BIS spokesperson said by email. CBP recently said it is waiting for Commerce input on how to handle goods that fall under a Section 232 quota exclusion that seemed likely to expire before the goods could be entered, due to Hurricane Ida delays (see 2109030040).
A Republican senator said that even with three years of protectionist tariffs and quotas, the U.S. steel industry cannot meet demand, causing manufacturers that need steel to either curtail production or move production outside the country. In a Sept. 2 letter, Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., told the commerce secretary and U.S. trade representative that lifting the tariffs on European countries' steel exports is a good first step, but that Japan and South Korea, too, should be given an opportunity to get relief, which in turn, should help alleviate the 400% increase in the cost of the metal this year. He said there will be a surge in demand if the infrastructure bill passes Congress, and the U.S. needs to prepare for that by lifting Section 232 tariffs and quotas.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Aug. 30 - Sept. 5:
The American Association of Exporters and Importers, IBM and U.S. subsidiaries of the Foxconn Technology Group all disagree with CBP's proposed use of Part 102 rules of origin in non-preferential claims and procurement under USMCA (see 2107010045), they said in the comments recently posted in the docket for the proposal. Meanwhile, lithium-ion battery producer, Inventus Power, and the American Iron and Steel Institute voiced support for the changes in their comments. So far, the comments show a deep split between industries in support (see 2107270049) and against (see 2109010006) the proposal.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Aug. 30 - Sept. 3 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The Commerce Department will need to weigh in on how it plans to approach goods that were delayed by Hurricane Ida and have Section 232 tariff date sensitivities, a CBP official said Sept. 2 during a call with software developers. Asked about goods subject to a "232 quota exclusion due to expire in very the near future," the official said CBP has been in contact with the Department of Commerce, which will need to give input on any issues involving quota and the exemptions. Once that "absolute quota is filled, then it's filled" and "the importer will have to warehouse that merchandise if they're not able to use that quota exclusion before the quota exclusion expires."