The World Trade Organization issued a series of four rulings Dec. 9 finding that the U.S. Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs set by President Donald Trump violated global trade rules. In the landmark rulings, a three-person panel found that the duties violated Articles I, II, XI and XXI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. The dispute panel said the tariffs, which the Trump administration said were needed to maintain U.S. national security, were not "taken in time of war or other emergency in international relations," as mandated by Article XXI(b)(iii) of national security protections, so the duties violate the GATT.
Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, introduced a bill to extend HOPE and HELP, two Haiti-specific trade preferences, even though they don't expire until 2025.
The American Data Privacy and Protection Act still has a chance -- albeit a slim one -- of passing during the lame-duck congressional session, privacy experts said Wednesday at a Broadband Breakfast panel. Without comprehensive federal legislation, expect an ongoing wave of states crafting their own privacy rules, said R Street Institute's Brandon Pugh.
The G-7, the EU and Australia officially set a price cap on Russian oil Dec. 5, imposing certain service and shipping restrictions on oil originating in Russia and trading above $60 per barrel. The cap comes into force after months of discussions between the nations, including the announcement of a future cap by the countries in September (see 2209020033), and aims to restrict revenue to Russia as it continues its war in Ukraine.
The U.S. and the EU announced new export control initiatives during the Trade and Technology Council’s meetings this week, including a pilot program to better exchange information on dual-use export controls and a new effort to increase research collaboration on quantum technologies. But the U.S. didn’t use the meetings to try to convince European officials to push its firms, such as ASML, to adopt more stringent chip export controls against China, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said.
The communications market doesn’t need affordability metrics, telecom industry groups told the California Public Utilities Commission in comments this week. The CPUC received feedback Wednesday on a 2020 affordability report released last month and possibly applying the agency’s metrics to communications (see 2210140036). In a separate docket, the state commission received mixed reviews on a proposed pilot program for stacking federal affordable connectivity program (ACP) funds on state LifeLine support (see 2210140068).
The U.S. is looking to “aggressively” reform and bolster its export controls and investment screening tools to counter China, particularly surrounding emerging and foundational technologies, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said, speaking Nov. 30 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Raimondo outlined what she called the U.S.’s “economic competitiveness strategy” toward China, stressing that the administration isn't looking to sever trade ties with the country but that companies in sensitive sectors should be reassessing business with China.
The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill that would impose the contract that eight rail unions approved but four rejected, a contract that protects health insurance benefits and increases pay 24% across four years, with more than half of those pay increases applied retroactively, since the last contract expired in mid-2020.
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill that would impose the contract that eight rail unions approved but four rejected, a contract that protects health insurance benefits and increases pay 24% across four years, with more than half of those pay increases applied retroactively, since the last contract expired in mid-2020.