Mara Lee

In more than 2,300 comments on the possibility of tariffs on imported autos and auto parts, only three support the idea, according to Jennifer Thomas, vice president of federal government affairs at the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. Thomas, who represents all companies with American plants, was one of 45 witnesses testifying at the Commerce Department July 19, as the department investigates whether an increase in auto parts imports impairs the economic security of the auto industry or the ability of the military to benefit from advanced technologies such as autonomous driving (see 1805240002).

The Commerce Department posted one approval of a steel product exclusion request, and posted 215 denials on July 17. But the company that received the approval is not breaking out the champagne. Max Daetwyler Corp., a small North Carolina manufacturer of blades used to wipe away excess ink in printing processes, filed seven product exclusion requests, all for steel made in France it uses to make the blades. Two have been approved, five have been denied, and it's still waiting to hear on two more.

Trade Adjustment Assistance -- the retraining and wage support program designed to help workers whose jobs were eliminated by offshoring and surges of imports -- should be expanded to cover those who were laid off because their export markets were lost, some Congress members say. Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., along with three other Democrats, introduced a bill July 17 that would make these people eligible for the program, which pays tuition and extends unemployment insurance for up to two years. "Nobody wins in a trade war, and the biggest casualties are hardworking Americans," DelBene said. "While the President plays games with our economy, we will continue to fight for good jobs and good wages."

The auto industry is launching a media blitz this week with TV and print ads, and a "drive-in" press event of American workers from German, Japanese and other foreign-owned auto plants. The TV ad, paid for by the Association of Global Automakers, uses the kind of imagery often used in political ads -- a barn in a field of grain -- and a deep-voiced narrator noting that foreign automakers have plants in Indiana, Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi and Ohio. Every one of those states voted for Trump in 2016.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, called the White House's approach to tariffs "misguided and reckless," and said if the Trump administration "continues forward" with tariffs as a way to protect U.S. manufacturing, "I will work to advance trade legislation to curtail presidential trade authority." He said during a speech on the Senate floor July 17 that he is sympathetic to the effort (see 1807120023) from Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., to rescind steel and aluminum tariffs and prevent tariffs on autos and auto parts, and he is discussing legislative options with his colleagues.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said he thinks negotiators "are very close to getting agreement with Mexico and Canada" on NAFTA. Perdue, who spoke July 17 at an event hosted in Washington by Axios. "As you know, Canada has finally acknowledged their Class 7 milk [policy], keeping our dairy products out of Canada, is not a free trade effort like NAFTA," he said. But a few hours later, Canada's Deputy Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman denied Canada prevents sales of U.S. milk in her country.

The Invasive Fish and Wildlife Prevention Act, which would change how the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is able to designate injurious species, and thereby prevent their importation, was reintroduced July 12. The bill, H.R. 6362, was introduced in the Senate by Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and in the House of Representatives by Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y. The same bill had been sponsored in the House by Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., in a previous session (see 1607110067). Slaughter died in office this year.

The retaliatory tariffs from the European Union, China, Canada, Mexico and Turkey in response to U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs are being challenged at the World Trade Organization by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. "The U.S. steel and aluminum duties imposed by President Trump earlier this year are justified under international agreements the United States and its trading partners have approved," the USTR said in a July 16 news release. "However, retaliatory duties on U.S. exports imposed by China, the EU, Canada, Mexico and Turkey are completely without justification under international rules.

Sen. Rob Portman will become the latest Republican to try to address the way the administration has wielded Section 232 tariffs, quotas and threats of tariffs. Portman, who represents Ohio and is a former U.S. trade representative, is working on a bill that would change the statute that currently allows the president to take action on whether imports imperil national security while recognizing "the close relation of the economic welfare of the Nation to our national security." The law says that substantial unemployment, loss of skills or investment and declining tax revenues should be considered "in determining whether such weakening of our internal economy may impair the national security."

Over a two-day review at the World Trade Organization on China's trade policies, China insisted that intellectual property violations are no longer a major issue; that its support of state-owned enterprises is no different from Fannie Mae; and that its overcapacity in steel is not a problem for global steel prices, because China only exports 9 percent of its steel. Moreover, China's Commerce Vice Minister Wang Shouwen said, addressing overcapacity needs collective actions and China stands ready to join hands with other countries to tackle this problem together.