At a webinar on U.S.-Vietnam economic relations, Ambassador Ha Kim Ngoc said Vietnam is working to narrow the trade deficit with the U.S., whether by buying more American agricultural exports or encouraging Vietnamese businesses to open factories in the U.S. "I don’t think we can solve the problem overnight, with COVID-19 and the increased demand of the goods from Southeast Asia, and particularly Vietnam," he said April 27.
The U.S. should lead the charge to reopen the Environmental Goods Agreement in Geneva, House Ways and Means Republicans wrote April 22, on Earth Day. This follows a resolution introduced earlier in the month by four pro-trade Democrats calling for the same thing (see 2104080050).
Clete Willems, a former Donald Trump administration trade staffer, told the Senate Finance Committee that technology sales to China help pay for research and development here, so as Congress considers how to bolster the semiconductor industry, it should also be sure not to put export controls on goods that are not sensitive.
A bill that aims “to protect American businesses and government institutions from attacks designed to steal sensitive information” was introduced April 21 by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., his office announced. The Combating Chinese Purloining (CCP) of Trade Secrets Act would expand penalties for companies, business associations or individuals who misappropriate trade secrets, the press release said. The penalties mentioned include “import restrictions,” denial of export licenses, visa denials and a prohibition on applications for patent protection. The text of the bill is not yet available.
Former U.S. negotiators for the Environmental Goods Agreement at the World Trade Organization say the collapse of talks in 2016 means trying again with the countries that are major players in solar panels, wind turbines and the like is not likely to be productive this year. Mark Linscott, former assistant U.S. trade representative at the WTO, said he thinks even getting the fisheries subsidies deal done in Geneva this year is “dicey.” He recalled that it seemed promising when a plurilateral approach was taken on EGA, and China, when it was in the rotating chair at the G-20 group of nations, it pushed for a ministerial statement on the EGA that said it had found a landing zone, and the countries would “aim to conclude ... an ambitious, future-oriented EGA that that seeks to eliminate tariffs on a broad range of environmental goods by an EGA Ministerial meeting to be held by the end of 2016.”
Beth Baltzan, a former Democratic trade counsel at the House Ways and Means Committee and career staffer in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, has been named a senior advisor to USTR Katherine Tai. “She understands the connective tissues in our economy and I look forward to leaning on her expertise and guidance as we shape a worker-centric trade policy,” Tai said in a statement announcing the appointment. Baltzan has testified before Congress that the World Trade Organization hobbled trade remedies (see 1905220038) and has been critical of the impulse to lower tariffs as the primary approach of trade policy (see 1905220038).
Four Republicans senators reintroduced a bill last week that would require that the executive branch impose sanctions on foreigners responsible for taking U.S. hostages, even if those responsible are government officials. It also creates a mechanism for Congress to require that an administration open a review if a government official was responsible for a hostage taking, and therefore, must be covered by the sanctions. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind. and Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and introduced April 16. Hawley and Cotton sponsored another bill, called the Global Hostages Act, in 2019 that did not move in committee. Although it is called the Global Hostage Act, it would also apply to politically motivated harassment, abuse, extortion or arrests of American citizens and permanent residents, not just imprisonment or detainment.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., are promoting a bill they say should guide government investments in advanced manufacturing or industrial research, and should be a companion to the Endless Frontier Act. The National Strategy to Ensure American Leadership (SEAL) Act would ask the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine to identify which technologies will be the critical ones in the next five to 10 years, where if the U.S. is not a strong player, it could hurt the economy.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai's conversations with her counterparts from Italy and the Netherlands addressed global overcapacity in steel, according to summaries of the video calls released April 16. The administration has suggested that Section 232 tariffs on aluminum and steel cannot be removed until overcapacity has been addressed, even when the countries subject to those tariffs are not dumping steel or aluminum in their exports to the U.S.
While Vietnam, Taiwan, and Switzerland exceeded thresholds established by the Treasury Department to identify potentially unfair currency practices, a report from the department released April 16 said there is no evidence that they manipulated their currency to gain unfair trade advantage. The report noted that in early 2021, Treasury offices began “enhanced bilateral engagement with Vietnam and is working with the Vietnamese authorities to develop a plan with specific actions to address the underlying causes of Vietnam’s currency undervaluation.” It was already engaged with Switzerland on the topic, and will continue those discussions. It said similar talks should be done with Taiwan. The report noted that the Taiwanese currency appreciated in 2020, but given the strength of Taiwan's economy that year, it did not rise as much as would be expected.