Russian steel company NLMK filed a lawsuit against U.S. Steel alleging the Pittsburgh-based company misled the Department of Commerce when it objected to the Section 232 exclusion requests filed by NLMK. The company filed the complaint in a Pennsylvania state court Jan. 22 and is seeking more than $100 million in damages for unfair competition. NLMK previously reached a settlement with the government over what it said was improperly denied exclusion requests (see 2010200029).
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Jan. 19-22 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
At her confirmation hearing in the Senate, Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo, President Joe Biden's nominee for commerce secretary, was asked about rolling back Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum, and ending Section 201 tariffs on solar panels, which will increase to 18% on Feb. 7 if no action is taken (see 2010130028) and if a court doesn't stop it (see 2012300045).
The details of the United Arab Emirates aluminum quotas will be published on Jan. 25. They will allow 26,467,182 kilograms of wrought aluminum and castings and forgings to enter -- the wrought aluminum under headings 7604, 7605, 7606, 7607, 7608 or 7609; the castings and forgings under 7616.99.51. The quotas also will allow 149,482,620 kilograms of unwrought aluminum under subheading 7061.10, and 454,050,450 kilograms of alloyed unwrought aluminum under subheading 7601.20. Aluminum imports from UAE will not be subject to the 10% tariff under Section 232, since the country agreed to using quotas as an export restraint.
Even though the Joe Biden administration will have a very different approach to trade than did the Trump administration, that will not mean a wholesale rejection of what its predecessors did, analysts said during a Center for Strategic and International Studies webinar Jan. 21.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Jan. 11-15 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Jan. 11-17:
Thompson Hine lawyer David Schwartz said he thinks the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill will be renewed as soon as the bill can be introduced and get through the two chambers of Congress. But Schwartz, speaking on a Jan. 19 webinar put on by the law firm, said there are enough voices there asking for changes to the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program that he doesn't expect it to get a vote until the shape of that reform is hammered out. House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., wants new requirements on countries to get the tariff breaks, including environmental enforcement, political pluralism, work on reducing poverty and combating corruption (see 2012080049).
European Union Director General for Trade Sabine Weyand told an audience Jan. 15 that resolving punitive tariffs are “a prerequisite for creating a good atmosphere” so that the EU and the U.S. can coordinate on confronting China's trade abuses and creating a carbon border adjustment.
In a week, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, will become the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, but he will retain a seat on the Finance Committee, and he said he'll still be working on trade issues in 2021. Grassley said that it would “be a lot easier” to pass legislation renewing the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill than to renew the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program, since Democrats have proposed numerous changes to GSP that would make eligibility more difficult for developing countries. “But I believe because the Democrats have tied them together, we won’t get it done until we get some compromise done with them on Generalized [System of] Preferences,” he told International Trade Today during a conference call with reporters Jan. 14.