U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal did not announce any breakthroughs after their Jan. 11 meeting, but their joint statement pointed to some trade irritants that might be resolved in the future.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, at a joint press conference with President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said that the three countries are "creating a joint committee aimed at planning and substituting imports in North America so that we may try to be increasingly self-sufficient in this part of the world and to turn development cooperation into a reality, as well as the well-being of all the countries of our continent. We want that to be a reality."
Members of the House of Representatives voted 365-65 on the second day of the session to create a Select Committee on China. The committee, which will be led by Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., will be bipartisan.
In the first formal round of negotiations with Taiwan, the U.S. will present texts it would like to see adopted on good regulatory practices, trade facilitation and other areas, but not on lowering tariffs for U.S. exports, as that is beyond the scope of the 21st Century Trade Initiative.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and its analogues in Canada and Mexico asked the three countries' leaders to work on "a quick resolution" of disputes over Mexican energy policies, Canadian dairy tariff-rate quotas and the U.S. position on the auto rules of origin.
The Kissinger Institute on China and the United States director, in an article previewing U.S.-China relations in 2023, said that both countries don't want to admit they are in a cold war -- but they are.
Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., was chosen to be the House Ways and Means Committee chairman by the House Steering Committee, edging out Rep. Vern Buchanan, the Florida Republican who was considered the establishment choice.
Ahead of a meeting of the "Three Amigos" -- the presidents of the U.S. and Mexico and the prime minister of Canada -- Jan. 9-10, business groups that advocate for North American integration said during a Jan. 6 webinar that they're hoping to see more evidence of nearshoring and using North American resources to diversify away from China.
Japan and the U.S. need to coordinate investment in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and biotechnology at the same time they cooperate on export controls, according to Yasutoshi Nishimura, Japan's minister of economy, trade and industry. He spoke at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Jan. 5.
The National Foreign Trade Council has hired John Pickel, a former trade director in the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Strategy, Policy and Plans, as senior director for international supply chain policy. Pickel also previously served as counselor to the CBP commissioner for trade facilitation and trade enforcement and as a congressional affairs staffer. “John brings a remarkable wealth of expertise and experience in a range of supply chain, trade facilitation and customs issues that are critically important to our member companies,” NFTC President Jake Colvin said.