Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee are asking the Biden administration to open a Section 301 investigation on the discriminatory effects of Canada's recently enacted digital services tax. The administration earlier conducted investigations on other countries planning DSTs, but did not impose tariffs, as talks on a global taxation solution proceed.
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.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The International Trade Commission posted Revision 4 to the 2024 Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The semiannual update to the HTS adds new 10-digit tariff numbers for a variety of products, including integrated circuits and plantation-harvested teak.
A former top trade negotiator in Mexico, Juan Carlos Baker Pineda, said he doesn't think the review of the USMCA will be about fine-tuning or technical changes to the trade pact.
Almost three years after environmental groups asked the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to ask the tri-national Commission on Environmental Cooperation to establish a formal factual record of Mexico's failure to enforce its ban on gillnets in the Upper Gulf of California in Mexico (see 2108130052), that commission will begin such a fact-finding mission.
The International Trade Commission posted Revision 4 to the 2024 Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The semiannual update to the HTS adds new 10-digit tariff numbers for a variety of products, including integrated circuits and plantation-harvested teak. All changes take effect July 1, unless otherwise specified.
Changes to the USMCA rules of origin (ROOs) have "had a positive economic impact on the U.S. and North American auto industry, although with some challenges in implementation and new challenges emerging," according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The USTR report to Congress, mandated by Congress when NAFTA was rewritten, noted that carmakers "are still adjusting to the full scope of USMCA’s autos rules," with 13 entities given extended time to meet the stricter rules, at least for some models.
A listing of recent Commerce Department antidumping and countervailing duty messages posted on CBP's website June 26, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching for the listed CBP message number at CBP's ADCVD Search page.
The Commerce Department published notices in the Federal Register June 26 on the following AD/CV duty proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, scope, affected firms or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):
The U.S. has filed a rapid response labor mechanism complaint against Industrias Tecnos in Cuernavaca, Morelos, and has asked CBP to suspend liquidation on the ammunition made at the plant.