Mara Lee

The hosts of the G-20 meeting of finance ministers in Buenos Aires declined to criticize U.S. protectionism when pressed by reporters, or give specifics about what others said to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who was in attendance. Argentina's Finance Minister Luis Caputo said that while there are trade tensions, and that was the hottest topic at the meeting, "we had a very constructive dialogue. We have reasserted that trade and investments are an engine for growth, productivity, innovation, job creation... ."

It's worth it to make an effort to conclude NAFTA negotiations, Mexico's President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told President Donald Trump in a letter he sent July 12. The letter was read aloud to Mexican reporters on July 22. "I think that prolonging the uncertainty could curb investment in the medium and long term, which would obviously create problems for Mexico's economic growth," he wrote in Spanish. He said Canada should be at the table, too.

Canada asked for a Chapter 20 review under NAFTA of safeguard tariffs on solar panel imports.The tariffs on solar panels apply after a country has exported 2.5 gigawatts worth of product (see 1801230052), it said in a news release. Canada noted the U.S. International Trade Commission recommendation that Canada be excluded from any safeguard measures after finding that imports from Canada are not a source of injury to U.S. industry. Despite that, Canada is still subject to the tariffs. "The tariffs violate NAFTA rules and were imposed despite the fact that the United States International Trade Commission found that imports of solar panels from Canada were not harming U.S. industry," Chrystia Freeland, Canada's foreign minister, said July 23.

Countries that export billions of dollars' worth of autos and auto parts into the U.S. will punch back if tariffs are imposed on their products, top officials from Europe and Canada warned. And Mexico, which has one of the largest trade deficits in the automotive sector, reminded the U.S. government panel hearing testimony that its law enforcement cooperation with the U.S. countering narcotraffickers is invaluable. "A strong and successful United States is in the interest of Mexico no less than a strong and successful Mexico is in the interest of the United States," said Mexican Ambassador Geronimo Gutierrez Fernandez.

The House Ways and Means chairman and the chairman of the Subcommittee on Trade have told CBP that it's unacceptable that the agency hasn't publish final rules for the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (TFTEA), since that legislation required the regulations be promulgated by Feb. 24 this year. "We are adamant that [you] finalize and publish the TFTEA regulations without further delay," Chairman Kevin Brady and subcommittee Chairman Dave Reichert wrote July 19. "We are particularly concerned that non-compliance has greatly complicated drawback claims, particularly given CBP’s refusal to grant accelerated payment until the regulatory package is final."

Mexico's chief NAFTA negotiator will meet with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on July 26, but Canada's foreign minister will not attend. Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo told reporters in Mexico about the trip to Washington. The administration has been telling lawmakers that its ambition is to close a deal with Mexico first, and then bring Canada to the table. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters July 18: " We see a lot of progress on the conversations with Mexico and if we could make a bilateral deal with them, we're certainly very happy to do that." But Mexico continues to insist it wants a trilateral, not a bilateral, trade agreement.

President Donald Trump told a CNBC interviewer on July 20 that he's "ready to go to" with tariffs on $500 billion worth of Chinese imports. American Apparel and Footwear Association President and CEO Rick Helfenbein responded to the threat with concern in a news release: "We all want to participate in a trading system that creates more jobs in America and respects our intellectual property, but tariffs will not do this. ... More tariffs will not resolve this conflict -- they will only create inflation, hurt the consumer, and damage the economy."

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.

The international trading system is in its deepest crisis in 70 years, European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström said, and while she understands the U.S.'s frustration with China's abuses, she laid the blame squarely on the U.S. In a speech July 19, she said the EU is concerned about the U.S. blocking appointments to the appellate body at the World Trade Organization, its attempt to justify steel and aluminum quotas on tariffs on national security grounds, its unilateral tariffs against China, and its use of "increasingly aggressive rhetoric at allies."