U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said, in a readout of a video call she had with the Business Council for International Understanding, that receiving input from workers and underserved communities in addition to business interests "will lead to more durable trade policy that helps businesses compete fairly abroad and identify new market opportunities." She talked about Trade and Investment Framework Agreements as a mechanism for identifying those opportunities, and also highlighted the tariffs that were lifted as a result of the U.S.-European Union-United Kingdom settlement of the Boeing-Airbus case.
In a strategic meeting called a high-level economic dialogue, Mexico and the U.S. talked about ways to facilitate the movement of goods at the border and ways to use Mexico in a North American-centric semiconductor supply chain, officials said after the Sept. 9 meeting. Mexico could become a place for packaging and testing chips, Mexico's Economy Secretary Tatiana Clouthier said at a press conference at the Mexican Embassy.
The previous country of origin labeling (COOL) for beef triggered a dispute among the U.S., Mexico and Canada that the U.S. lost at the World Trade Organization (see 1512070017), leading to retaliatory tariffs, and ultimately, the end of mandatory COOL. Ranchers have repeatedly sought the return of COOL, as they dislike the fact that cattle raised in Canada but slaughtered in the U.S. are labeled as U.S. products. South Dakota's two senators, Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., announced that they will introduce a new COOL bill next week that will require the U.S. trade representative consulting with the agriculture secretary to develop a new mandatory COOL regime that could withstand scrutiny at the WTO. The agency would have six months to develop the plan and six months to implement it, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said. If the USTR does not come up with a plan, an automatic mandatory COOL would begin for beef. “Transparency in labeling benefits both producers and consumers,” Thune said. “Unfortunately, the current beef labeling system in this country allows imported beef that is neither born nor raised in the United States, but simply finished here, to be labeled as a product of the USA. This process is unfair to cattle producers and misleading for consumers. When you see a ‘product of the USA’ label on the grocery store shelf, it should mean just that."
Democratic members of the House Agriculture Committee, including Chairman David Scott, D-Ga., told U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and the agriculture secretary that they are dissatisfied with progress toward dismantling trade barriers to biotech crops in China and Mexico. Their letter, signed by eight committee members, says that when countries like China and Mexico don't allow the imports of these crops, that decision has "a chilling effect on global adoption and commercialization of new technologies. As a result, farmers at home and abroad are forced to choose between innovative technologies or access to foreign markets."
The National Association of Manufacturers CEO is calling on the Biden administration to "act as quickly as possible to finalize and publicize [its China] strategy. Such a clear, robust strategy on China, including U.S.-China trade, would be critical in bolstering manufacturers’ efforts to retain and hire American workers, invest in domestic operations and adjust supply chains, and providing meaningful opportunities for manufacturers to seek targeted relief from broad application of Section 301 tariffs."
Dawn Shackleford, the assistant U.S. trade representative for the World Trade Organization and multilateral affairs, has been chosen to be assistant USTR for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, which covers Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific islands, in addition to Southeast Asia. "Dawn has demonstrated great skill and expertise across multiple positions at USTR,” USTR Katherine Tai said. “Her diplomatic experience and judgement will be invaluable as we engage our trading partners and resume our work to enhance U.S. economic cooperation in Southeast Asia and across the Pacific.” Shackleford was the lead negotiator on the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement and the lead negotiator for customs and trade facilitation in European trade talks that faltered. She joined USTR in 2004, after working at the Pentagon. Kent Shigetomi will serve as acting assistant USTR for WTO and multilateral affairs.
The U.S. is now facing formal complaints from both Mexico and Canada over how it's calculating regional value content in the auto rules of origin under USMCA. Canada formally joined Mexico's call for consultations, it announced Aug. 26. Canada says that, like Mexico, it does not agree "with the interpretation of the United States of the relationship between the core parts and vehicle regional value content calculations."
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U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, in a readout of an Aug. 25 call with Turkey's Trade Minister Mehmet Mus, said that she argued that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's discussions on international taxation are the best way to resolve the issues that led countries to want to impose digital services taxes. The USTR has said that 32 subheadings of Turkish imports could face tariffs if Turkey imposes a DST. The value of goods on the list imported in 2019 was $310 million.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told reporters on a press call that his constituents are saying they're concerned there is a "lack of a trade agenda in this administration." He said that in the months since Katherine Tai was confirmed as U.S. trade representative, "I haven't seen any movement on trade agreements."