January 2018

On the eve of the State of the Union, 35 Republican Senators sent a letter to President Trump reaffirming their belief in the benefits of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). They urged the president to keep NAFTA in place but supported efforts to modernize the trade agreement. Overall, the letter extols the value…

In a lengthy State of the Union address, President Trump covered many issues and highlighted his administration’s achievements over the past year in claiming a “new American moment.” On international trade matters, Trump broke no new ground in reiterating his administration’s position that it will promote only “free, fair and reciprocal trade.” In his opening…

As required by Section 241 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) (see our Trump and Trade Update dated 10/30/17), the Treasury Department has submitted to Congress a detailed and classified report identifying senior Russian political figures, Russian oligarchs and Russian parastatal entities (companies in which Russian state ownership is at least…

While the sixth round of negotiations among trade officials from Canada, Mexico and the United States proceeded in Montreal last week on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the nonpartisan Business Roundtable released an economic analysis concluding that termination of NAFTA would have a significant net negative impact on the U.S. economy and employment.…

In remarks to attendees at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, President Trump proclaimed that “the world is witnessing the resurgence of a strong and prosperous America” that has dramatically cut taxes and eliminated burdensome regulations, and is reforming bureaucracy and ensuring its laws are enforced fairly. While acknowledging his “America First” stance, the…

On January 19, the Department of Commerce submitted its Section 232 report to the White House on the national security implications of aluminum imports one business day ahead of its statutory deadline. The president now has 90 days from that date, January 19, to determine whether he agrees with the Commerce Department’s findings or will…

Toshimitsu Motegi, the Japanese government official in charge of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, announced today that the 11 countries still participating in the negotiations had agreed on a newly revised TPP, which will now be called the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). This resolution followed last-minute objections from Canada at a TPP…

Under Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974, President Donald Trump has imposed new tariffs on imported large residential washing machines and imported solar cells and modules, marking the first time the United States has imposed global safeguard restrictions since 2002. These new tariffs were based on recommendations by the U.S. International Trade Commission.…

Energy Fuels Inc. and Ur-Energy Inc. (the petitioners) have jointly submitted a petition to the U.S. Department of Commerce for relief under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 from imports of uranium products from state-owned and state-subsidized enterprises in Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. According to the petition, such imports now supply nearly…

The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated 14 individuals and entities for sanctions arising from serious human rights abuses and censorship in Iran and support of designated Iranian weapons proliferators. According to Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin, “The United States will not stand by while the Iranian regime continues…