Although the trade ministers of the G-20 agreed that nationalist approaches to medical supplies should be temporary, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told other countries' trade ministers that things will need to be different after the crisis passes, as well. “Unfortunately, like others, we are learning in this crisis that over-dependence on other countries as a source of cheap medical products and supplies has created a strategic vulnerability to our economy. For the United States, we are encouraging diversification of supply chains and seeking to promote more manufacturing at home,” he said March 30.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative scheduled a hearing for businesses to testify about their priorities for negotiations for a U.S.-Kenya free trade agreement. USTR notified Congress March 17 of its intent to enter into negotiations with Kenya (see 2003170061). The deadline to submit written comments and to notify of an intent to testify is April 15. The public hearing will be April 28 in Washington. The office recommended giving feedback on barriers to trade; costs or benefits to reducing tariffs in the U.S. on Kenyan imports; customs and facilitation issues, including those related to pre-shipment inspection; and whatever else companies think needs to be addressed.
Field hearings scheduled in Florida and Georgia in early April by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Agriculture Department and the Commerce Department on competition from produce imported from Mexico (see 2003050063) are being postponed due to measures to control the coronavirus pandemic, USTR said in a notice. Comments will continue to be accepted, it said. “The original deadline for written submissions -- March 26, 2020 -- has been waived,” the announcement said, and the docket will remain open until the next deadline is set by notification.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is requesting comments on whether the set of tariff exclusions on Chinese imports on Section 301 List 1 that are set to expire June 4 (see 1906030038) should last another year, it said in a notice. The agency will start accepting comments on the extensions on April 1. The comments are due by April 30, it said. Each exclusion will be evaluated independently. The focus of the evaluation will be whether, despite the first imposition of these additional duties in July 2018, the particular product remains available only from China. The companies are required to post a public rationale.
Applications to become a panelist on a state-to-state dispute settlement panel for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or on a specialized labor panel, will be due by April 20, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a notice.
The U.S. Trade Representative notified Congress March 17 that it will be negotiating a trade agreement with Kenya. Negotiations cannot begin for at least 90 days. “Under President Trump’s leadership, we look forward to negotiating and concluding a comprehensive, high-standard agreement with Kenya that can serve as a model for additional trade agreements across Africa. Kenya is an important regional leader, a strategic partner of the United States, and a commercial hub that can provide substantial opportunities for U.S. trade and investment,” USTR Robert Lighthizer said in a statement.
China accounted for 26% of imports of medical devices, protective gear and other supplies needed to fight the coronavirus epidemic before the trade war began, according to a recent paper by Peterson Institute for International Economics economist Chad Bown -- and after tariffs were put on the goods, those imports fell by 16%.
Correction: The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative didn't include surgical masks or subheading 6307.90.9889 in the first group of Section 301 tariffs, but did include subheading 4015.19.0510 (see 2003060042). Multiple product descriptions, including surgical masks, under subheading 6307.90.9889 were included in new exclusions released March 13 (see 2003130010).
An increase in the quantity of solar cells allowed a low rate under Section 201 safeguard duties would help U.S. solar module producers, though it could cost a U.S. company emerging from bankruptcy should it opt to restart production of solar cells, the International Trade Commission said in a report released March 6. As proposed by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in December (see 1912200013), an increase in the TRQ threshold from 2.5 gigawatts to 4, 5 or 6 gigawatts would “likely result in a substantial increase in U.S. module producers’ production, capacity utilization, and employment,” the ITC said. “This is because U.S. module producers would gain expanded access to imported cells at lower prices (due to application of safeguard duties on fewer cells) during the remaining two years of the safeguard measure,” it said. While Panasonic, the only current producer of solar cells in the U.S., would likely not be affected, Suniva, which exited bankruptcy in March 2019, could see reduced profits under the higher safeguard if it starts making solar cells again, the ITC said.
The U.S. should “develop a targeted list of products for which Section 301 tariffs and retaliatory tariffs can be suspended or removed to spur economic growth and job creation,” the National Association of Manufacturers said in a set of recommendations for the federal government response to the COVD-19 outbreak. NAM also suggested “temporary duty waivers and expedited entry procedures to facilitate cross-border trade in health care items” and extensions of tariff relief programs “to allow import of components used in U.S. manufacturing of coronavirus-needed products.” The U.S. should also begin negotiations with other countries to reduce tariffs on items needed for the response and create an “interagency initiative to identify and reduce trade and regulatory barriers to U.S. exports of products used in a pandemic response.”