Safeguard duties on large residential washers entered under a tariff-rate quota will fall to 15% on Feb. 8, 2021, and then 14% on Feb. 8, 2022, before the newly extended safeguards expire after Feb. 7, 2023, according to annexes to a presidential proclamation released Jan. 19 for publication in the Jan. 21 Federal Register.

Ninety minutes before President Donald Trump left office, the White House announced that United Arab Emirates aluminum exports will no longer be subject to a 10% tariff, but the level of its imports will be permitted “to remain close to historical levels without meaningful increases.” The proclamation said this would limit export surges and discourage excess aluminum production.

The U.S. and Vietnam held “consultations” Dec. 23 on allegations that Hanoi deliberately devalued the dong against the dollar to the detriment of American commercial interests, it was disclosed in the Section 301 investigative report from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative ruling out tariffs on Vietnamese goods in the final days of the Trump administration (see 2101150053). The report shared nothing about the substance of the previously unknown talks, held roughly a week before USTR convened a virtual hearing Dec. 29 into Vietnam’s alleged currency misbehavior. Agency representatives made no mention of the consultations during the hearing.

Thompson Hine lawyer David Schwartz said he thinks the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill will be renewed as soon as the bill can be introduced and get through the two chambers of Congress. But Schwartz, speaking on a Jan. 19 webinar put on by the law firm, said there are enough voices there asking for changes to the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program that he doesn't expect it to get a vote until the shape of that reform is hammered out. House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., wants new requirements on countries to get the tariff breaks, including environmental enforcement, political pluralism, work on reducing poverty and combating corruption (see 2012080049).

European Union Director General for Trade Sabine Weyand told an audience Jan. 15 that resolving punitive tariffs are “a prerequisite for creating a good atmosphere” so that the EU and the U.S. can coordinate on confronting China's trade abuses and creating a carbon border adjustment.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will not impose Trade Act Section 301 tariffs on Vietnam imports in the remaining days of the Trump administration for Hanoi’s allegedly improper devaluation of the dong against the dollar, though it did find Vietnam’s practices “actionable” under the statute, and “will continue to evaluate all available options,” the agency said Jan. 15. The decision to forgo tariffs was sure to bring welcome relief to the hundreds of companies, trade associations and business groups that argued vehemently against them in recent weeks, including in a Dec. 29 virtual hearing (see 2012290036).

President Donald Trump extended and adjusted the Section 201 safeguards on washing machines, he said in a Jan. 14 proclamation. The tariff-rate quotas on washers and washer parts will continue for another two years with some changes, he said. The safeguards were put in place in January 2018 and were originally to last three years (see 1801230052).

In a week, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, will become the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, but he will retain a seat on the Finance Committee, and he said he'll still be working on trade issues in 2021. Grassley said that it would “be a lot easier” to pass legislation renewing the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill than to renew the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program, since Democrats have proposed numerous changes to GSP that would make eligibility more difficult for developing countries. “But I believe because the Democrats have tied them together, we won’t get it done until we get some compromise done with them on Generalized [System of] Preferences,” he told International Trade Today during a conference call with reporters Jan. 14.

The Commerce Department released an interim final rule that would require government assent for inputs into certain products if those imports are from Iran, China, Russia, Cuba, Venezuela or North Korea. Several of those countries are already sanctioned; as a practical matter, this rule will target Chinese goods. Commerce proposed the rule in 2019 (see 2001130009).

November Census Bureau import data newly released through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool documents Vietnam’s significant and growing role in the consumer tech supply chain. Vietnam as a sourcing country made substantial import share gains in product categories experiencing historic spikes in consumer demand during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially TVs with screen sizes under 35 inches, DataWeb shows. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is considering whether to impose Section 301 tariffs on goods from Vietnam (see 2101110035).