Section 301 Investigations

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In its self-initiated investigation, the Department of Commerce has preliminarily determined that countervailing duties (CVD) should be assessed for imports of aluminum sheet from China to counteract Chinese government subsidies. Commerce calculated a 31.20 percent CVD rate for Chinese respondent Yong Jie New Material Co., Ltd.; a 34.99 percent CVD rate for respondents Henan Mingtai Industrial Co., Ltd. and Zhengzhou Mingtai Industry Co., Ltd.; and a 33.10 percent CVD rate for all other Chinese producers and exporters. Due to their failure to cooperate in the investigation, Commerce assigned a 113.30 percent CVD rate to respondents Chalco Ruimin Co., Ltd. and Chalco-SWA Cold Rolling Co., Ltd.

On April 12, 2018, the House of Representatives’ Committee on Ways and Means held a hearing to explore the effects on the U.S. economy and jobs of the tariff increases related to Section 232 and Section 301 investigations. Before the hearing, Chairman Kevin Brady stated, “In enforcing our trade laws, we should always take a targeted approach to address unfair practices while avoiding harm to U.S. workers and job creators. Our private sector witnesses will discuss the impact of recently announced U.S. tariff increases on their businesses, including product and country coverage of the tariffs, the process to comment on and apply for exclusions from the tariffs, and the effects of possible retaliation on U.S. exporters.” In his opening comments, Brady highlighted China’s questionable trade policies and practices, but also asked, “How do you avoid punishing Americans for China’s misbehavior?”

On April 11, 2018, the Senate Committee on Finance held a hearing regarding the challenges that U.S. businesses, manufacturers and service providers face when trying to access the Chinese market. Links to the witnesses’ written testimony are provided below. Before the committee, these industry witnesses consistently indicated that a long-term strategy – with clear objectives and a timeline – was needed to address China’s trade practices. Perhaps, most poignantly, Dean Garfield, president and CEO of the Information Technology Industry Council, stated, “The U.S.-China relationship is as complex as it is important. The relationship has always been – and likely will continue to be – one of both competition and cooperation. We need to approach managing difficulties in the bilateral trade relationship with the nuance and deliberation they deserve, recognizing that both action and inaction will have consequences for years to come, in positive and negative respects.” He later added that the United States, regardless of China’s practices, must rebalance its approach to strengthening the U.S. economy because, “Regardless of whether China plays by the rules or not, it will continue to develop significant capacity for technological development, innovation, and growth. The United States must be prepared to compete.”

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has released its annual report on significant foreign trade barriers, providing an inventory of the most important foreign barriers affecting U.S. exports of goods and services, foreign direct investment by U.S. persons and protection of intellectual property rights. The term “trade barriers” does not have a fixed definition but is broadly defined by the USTR as government laws, regulations, policies or practices that either protect domestic goods and services from foreign competition, artificially stimulate exports of particular domestic goods and services, or fail to provide adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights. The report classifies foreign trade barriers into 10 different categories, including import policies, government procurement, export subsidies, lack of intellectual property protections and service/investment barriers.

Announcing that China’s unfair trade practices in the areas of technology transfers and intellectual property result in harm to the U.S. economy of at least $50 billion per year, President Trump issued a Presidential Memorandum announcing the findings of his administration’s Section 301 investigation into these practices by the People’s Republic of China. This trade…

In the category of “we can’t make this stuff up,” there reportedly has been in the past 24 hours an all-out war within the Trump administration over any tariffs to be implemented as a result of the Section 232 investigations into steel and aluminum imports. On February 16, the Department of Commerce publicly released reports…

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has released the Trump administration’s Trade Policy Agenda and Annual Report detailing how the administration “is promoting free, fair, and reciprocal trade and strongly enforcing U.S. trade laws.” USTR Robert Lighthizer, in releasing the report, stated that, “President Trump has launched a new era in American trade policy.…

In wide-ranging remarks during a business session with U.S. governors, President Trump yesterday repeatedly broached the topic of international trade. The president reiterated his commitment to working on fair and reciprocal trade deals and highlighted specific trade issues:

  • Mexico – “You know, with Mexico … we probably lose $130 billion a year…. And, at some

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In an undated memo from the Department of Defense (DoD) to the Department of Commerce that was released last night, DoD concurred with Commerce’s recent Section 232 reports on steel and aluminum that have been submitted to President Trump for review. DoD agreed that “imports of foreign steel and aluminum based on unfair trading practices…

Twenty-five Republican senators authored a letter to President Trump encouraging his administration to re-engage in Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement discussions, which he abandoned shortly after taking office in January 2017. Despite the withdrawal of the United States from TPP negotiations, the remaining 11 countries continued negotiating the newly approved Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement…