The Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman and top Republican on the committee sent a letter to the White House, arguing that Taiwan should be in the Indo Pacific Economic Framework, and asking for a briefing for both their committee and the Senate Finance Committee on whether it will be, what the U.S.'s economic engagement is with Taiwan, and whether the U.S. has economic goals that it is seeking with Taiwan. The May 18 letter, which also was signed by the Senate Finance Committee chairman and ranking member and 48 other senators, notes that there was $114 billion in two-way trade with Taiwan last year, and that Taiwan is a significant player in computers, telecommunications and electronics. "Excluding Taiwan from IPEF would significantly distort regional and global economic architecture, run counter to U.S. economic interests" and play into China's narrative about Taiwan, they said. China argues that Taiwan is not an independent country, and has punished countries that have given it diplomatic recognition.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said during a press conference in Brussels that there's a variety of opinions in the administration about what to do on tariffs, and officials haven't been able to agree on how to proceed. "I've said previously that I think that some of the tariffs that were imposed by President Trump in retaliation for China's unfair trade practices, some of them, to me, seem as though they impose more harm on consumers and businesses and aren't very strategic in the sense of addressing real issues we have with China, whether it concerns supply chain vulnerabilities, national security issues, or other unfair trade practices," she said.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai asked Mexico to review whether workers at the Panasonic Automotive Systems de Mexico facility in Reynosa are being denied the rights of free association and collective bargaining. By doing so, USTR is endorsing an April 18 request from Rethink Trade and a Mexican union that was, at the time, trying to win a union vote at the factory (see 2204190031). The two groups' complaint said that Panasonic fired more than 60 workers who supported the independent union, and that the captive union, Confederación de Trabajadores de México (CTM), was offering bribes to workers to get their votes. They also said that Panasonic signed a contract with CTM before the vote, and started withholding union dues almost a month before the vote.
At a hearing on Canada's role in helping the U.S. meet its climate goals, both Canadian politicians and senators talked about how they need to continue developing a partnership in critical minerals. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said it makes no sense "for us to so heavily invest in electric vehicles as a climate solution when that means increasing our reliance on China, because right now we’re not simultaneously increasing our mining, processing, and recycling capacity at the same rate in the United States.
A bipartisan group of governors from 18 states are asking the White House to accelerate the investigation into tariff circumvention for solar panel manufacturers in Southeast Asia. "As Governors, we strongly urge you and your administration to expedite a preliminary determination as well as an economic analysis of the impact retroactive actions would have on businesses, workers, and families."
Former Mexican ambassadors to the U.S. and a former U.S. ambassador to Mexico expressed anxiety that Mexico is not able to capitalize on the move to nearshore or friendshore for a variety of reasons.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said he will be introducing a bill called the Fixing Our Regulatory Mayhem Upsetting Little Americans (Formula) Act, which he says would fight the shortage of baby milk formula that has occurred after a plant shutdown over safety issues (see 2205130033). The bill would eliminate tariffs on infant formulas from some countries, provide a six-month waiver of tariffs on all imported formula, and would waive FDA labeling and nutrition requirements for formula from countries with similar approval standards as the United States. It also would prohibit FDA from recalling infant formula if labeling is the only reason for the recall.
The AFL-CIO told China bill conferees that renewing Trade Adjustment Assistance, making changes to trade remedies laws, creating outbound investment screening and removing Chinese exports from de minimis eligibility "should be included in any competitiveness package that purports to challenge China's increasing economic dominance."
While the Biden administration faces very little legal constraint to continuing the Section 301 tariffs on the vast majority of Chinese imports, trade experts at the Wiley firm said that the administration is under pressure for a variety of reasons to make a decision on whether they are going to change their approach to the tariffs. So far, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has reinstated fewer than 500 exclusions, either due to the COVID-19 pandemic or to a limited review, and has not offered to renew the bulk of the 2,129 exclusions that were granted during the previous administration.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is continuing to get criticism about the solar circumvention investigation, this time both from Republicans and Democrats, as she testified again in front of a Senate committee. She said that while she is not saying if the circumvention investigation will result in a finding, she wanted to address rhetoric that says the large majority of imported solar panels could be subject to a 200% tariff. On one company, it could actually be 270% (see 2205040015).