Expect members of the Senate Commerce, Finance, Homeland Security and Foreign Affairs committees to be named as China bill conferees, Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told reporters after a March 23 hearing.
A dozen trade groups sent Congress a letter saying changes to antidumping duty and countervailing duty laws, colloquially known as Leveling the Playing Field 2.0, shouldn't be part of the compromise between the respective House and Senate China packages. Though the legislation originated in the Senate, it was inserted into the House trade title of the America Competes Act.
The tariff rate quota arrangement that the U.S. offered the U.K. covers a higher volume of steel than the U.K. exported to the U.S. in 2018 and 2019, though those quotas also cover steel with EU country of origin that was melted and poured in the U.K.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on March 23 announced the extension of 352 exclusions from Section 301 tariffs on China. The exclusions, all of which had expired, resume effect as of Oct. 12, 2021, and will remain in effect through Dec. 31, 2022, USTR said.
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Private sector and government leaders from around the world talked about what their firms are doing and how the World Trade Organization could be a forum for creating smoother flowing supply chains.
BALTIMORE -- U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai continued to throw cold water on the idea of reviving negotiations for a free-trade agreement with the United Kingdom, saying, "A free trade agreement is a tool. It is a very 20th century tool. It has its place certainly in the toolbox," she said, but said that she wants these U.K.-U.S. economic dialogues to be "maximally responsive" to today's trade challenges. She said she wants to make sure "that we don’t spend years and spend a lot of blood, sweat and tears working on something that isn't going to be relevant to the needs of our people or our economies."
Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., and Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., on March 21 expressed optimism that Congress can begin conference negotiations on its China package before the end of the work period, as planned by Senate leadership (see 2203170075).
The Court of International Trade ruled in a March 21 opinion that a customs spat over reimported swimsuits will head to phase two of trial. After sorting through whether a Warehousing Agreement between two related companies sufficed as a lease or similar use agreement during the first phase, Judge Jennifer Choe-Groves ruled that this condition was satisfied for classification under a duty-free tariff provision for U.S. goods returned. The court will now see if the remaining conditions are satisfied in order to grant SGS Sports duty-free treatment of the reimported swimwear.
The Court of International Trade on March 18 dismissed a lawsuit brought by a domestic pipe producer seeking to compel CBP to provide it with information related to an alleged duty evasion scheme by two importers. Judge Timothy Stanceu said that while the trade court did have jurisdiction to hear the case, Wheatland Tube Company improperly submitted its requests for information to CBP, and the agency properly rejected Wheatland's request to revoke a ruling letter.