The members of the Maine delegation -- Sens. Susan Collins, a Republican, and Angus King, an Independent; and Democratic House members Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden -- sent a letter to the U.S. trade representative asking that he reveal the dollar value of China's purchase promises for U.S. lobster. Lobster sales to China fell after retaliatory tariffs of 25 percent on the shellfish in response to the first round of Section 301 tariffs.
Despite resumed talk about tariffs on European autos, U.S. Chamber of Commerce officials say they are heartened by the first signs of progress in months for trade talks between the European Union and the United States. Marjorie Chorlins, the Chamber's senior vice president of European affairs, said with a new team at the European Commission, and the positive comments after the meeting in Davos, Switzerland, between President Donald Trump and EC President Ursula von der Leyen, the business community is feeling new hope for an improvement in relations. The officials spoke during a Jan. 24 conference call.
Not only are the purchase requirements in the new China trade deal unrealistic, other developments in China's economy and the trading relationship make them even further out of reach, according to an analysis by economist Chad Bown, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Bown notes that the rate of growth needed to meet the targets is higher than when China's economy was growing at 10 percent a year, and China's economy is growing more slowly now. Additionally, the tariffs on Chinese goods that remain in place after phase one are a further drag on the economy.
New European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told a German wire service that she and President Donald Trump want an agreement that resolves issues “in a few weeks.” But she didn't say how comprehensive such an agreement would be.
The ideal of free trade has been imperiled by politicians' inaction in the face of harm by foreign competition, said panelists at a Davos forum on free trade. Roberto Azevedo, director-general of the World Trade Organization, said that free trade is associated with economic growth -- but prosperity also increases the gap between rich and poor. When disparities grow, he said, the answer is not to grow, but to avoid inequality. “The problem is governments are often MIA. They are missing in action. They are seeing inequalities grow, and they do nothing about it,” he said, until there is political upheaval. He said politicians don't consider the economic realities as much as the desire of voters. “An easy answer in the age of disruption is to blame the foreign,” he said. “Imports is an easy target, so why not?”
President Donald Trump, speaking at a press conference in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 22, said he'll be talking with World Trade Organization Director-General Roberto Azevedo in Washington on “a whole new structure” for the WTO. “Roberto and I ... are going to do something that I think will be very dramatic,“ he said. Trump said Azevedo and others in his delegation will come to Washington “sometime next week or the week after, and we'll start working on it.”
The tariffs on billions of dollars worth of European goods because the World Trade Organization found the EU illegally subsidized Airbus puts Europe in a position where it will need to take similar action, assuming the WTO rules that state tax credits for Boeing also distorted trade. “This is where I don't want to be,” European Union Commissioner Phil Hogan said during a press roundtable with reporters late Jan. 16.
The Senate overwhelmingly passed the new NAFTA, though it wasn't by quite as wide a margin as in the House, where more than 95 percent of votes were for the trade pact. The vote, which happened just before the reading of the impeachment articles against President Donald Trump on Jan. 16, was 89-10, with only one Republican voting no. Most of the Democrats who voted no did so because the U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement doesn't address climate change.
Four Senate committees reported the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement out, clearing the way for a floor vote Jan. 16. The Foreign Relations Committee and Commerce Committee had voice votes. The Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted 22-1 in favor, with Sen. Bernie Sanders, independent senator from Vermont, the only no vote, though Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who previously voted no in the Finance Committee, was not present and did not vote by proxy. In the Appropriations Committee, 29 senators voted for the implementing bill, and two voted no -- Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii.
The Senate passed the U.S-Canada-Mexico Agreement, the replacement for NAFTA, with an 89-10 vote. Now the implementing bill heads to President Donald Trump's desk to be signed. The Canadian parliament must also still ratify the agreement.