A panel of trade experts said managed trade doesn't have to be a dirty word, but that the conflation of national security and economic security is dangerous. The Washington International Trade Association decided to host a discussion on managed trade after an essay was published by Edward Alden called, "Free Trade Is Dead. Risky ‘Managed Trade’ Is Here."
USMCA
The U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement is a free trade agreement between the three countries, also known as CUSMA in Canada and T-MEC in Mexico. Replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 2020, the agreement contains a unique sunset provision where, after six years (in 2026), any of the three parties may decide not to continue the agreement in its current form and begin a period of up to 10 years where USMCA provisions may be renegotiated.
A day after the White House's primary spokesperson said that if there's an opportunity to renegotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership, that's a discussion the U.S. could join, a former White House trade negotiator said the path to reentering the TPP is so steep that he doesn't think it's likely in the next few years.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Sept. 7-10 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated Sept. 9. The following headquarters rulings were modified recently, according to CBP:
In a strategic meeting called a high-level economic dialogue, Mexico and the U.S. talked about ways to facilitate the movement of goods at the border and ways to use Mexico in a North American-centric semiconductor supply chain, officials said after the Sept. 9 meeting. Mexico could become a place for packaging and testing chips, Mexico's Economy Secretary Tatiana Clouthier said at a press conference at the Mexican Embassy.
The American Association of Exporters and Importers, IBM and U.S. subsidiaries of the Foxconn Technology Group all disagree with CBP's proposed use of Part 102 rules of origin in non-preferential claims and procurement under USMCA (see 2107010045), they said in the comments recently posted in the docket for the proposal. Meanwhile, lithium-ion battery producer, Inventus Power, and the American Iron and Steel Institute voiced support for the changes in their comments. So far, the comments show a deep split between industries in support (see 2107270049) and against (see 2109010006) the proposal.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Aug. 30 - Sept. 3 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
CBP should take a different approach than the one it proposed for the rules of origin used on non-preferential claims and procurement under USMCA (see 2107010045), the Business Alliance for Customs Modernization said in comments to the agency. “BACM requests that CBP withdraw this [notice of proposed rulemaking] and engage the trade community in a dialogue about the type of rule of origin the United States should use for non-preferential purposes -- an objective test or a subjective test -- and then issue a new NPRM based on that input,” it said. BACM, which is made up of “large U.S.-based multinationals,” is the latest to come out against the proposal (see 2108120033 and 2108090027).
The U.S. is now facing formal complaints from both Mexico and Canada over how it's calculating regional value content in the auto rules of origin under USMCA. Canada formally joined Mexico's call for consultations, it announced Aug. 26. Canada says that, like Mexico, it does not agree "with the interpretation of the United States of the relationship between the core parts and vehicle regional value content calculations."
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Aug. 23-27 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.