House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., told an online audience Feb. 9 during a Washington International Trade Association conference that the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program will be restored this year, and that the benefits will be retroactive. He added, “I think that for all of its past successes, and I have been a supporter, it needs to be updated to keep us in line with progress as it relates to trade policy.”
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.
The Biden administration announced a slew of appointments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative that do not require Senate confirmation, allowing the agency to get its agenda underway as U.S. trade representative nominee Katherine Tai awaits a hearing and a floor vote.
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated Feb. 8. The following headquarters rulings were modified recently, according to CBP:
A listing of recent Commerce Department antidumping and countervailing duty messages posted to CBP's website Feb. 4, 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 ADD CVD Search page.
The U.S. has not publicly released all the companies that have applied for an extended period to get their North American-made vehicles into compliance with the tighter rules of origin, but both Canada and Mexico have published the list of 12 companies that have been approved. Since all three countries must approve alternative staging regimes, it follows that these companies' transition plans are cleared by the U.S., as well. The press office of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is in transition with a change in administrations.
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated Jan. 31. The following headquarters rulings were modified recently, according to CBP:
Economics Professor Mary Lovely, who studies multinationals' operations in China, told the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission that the trade war didn't make the U.S. less reliant on China, and that export controls designed to isolate China have not been effective, either. She noted that China is still the top exporter to the U.S., and their goods make up 17% of U.S. imports. The Commission met online Jan. 28.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Jan. 19-22 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Daniel Ujczo, a USMCA expert who has worked on compliance for automotive, advanced manufacturing, chemical and tech sectors so that their products meet rules of origin, is joining Thompson Hine's international trade and transportation practices as senior counsel in its Columbus, Ohio, office. Ujczo was the Canada-U.S. practice group chair at Dickinson Wright. In addition to his rules of origin expertise, the firm said he provides advice on tariff mitigation and exclusions, antidumping and countervailing duties, and procurement under Buy American rules.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters: