On March 1, 2022, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released the President’s 2022 Trade Policy Agenda and USTR’s 2021 Annual Report. These documents are issued yearly to Congress pursuant to Section 163 of the Trade Act of 1974. The agenda, which has historically been used as a messaging document, highlights the unique approach each
House and Senate Trade Committee Members send Bipartisan Letter Urging Reconsideration of TPP
On May 5, 2021, Senate Finance Trade Subcommittee Chairman Tom Carper (D-DE), Ranking Member John Cornyn (R-TX), House Ways & Means Trade Subcommittee member Stephanie Murphy (D-FL), and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) sent a letter to United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai requesting renewed consideration of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). In the letter, the group
Highlights from USTR’s Annual Special 301 Report for 2021 Protection of Intellectual Property Rights
On April 30, 2021, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released its annual Special 301 Report for 2021 on the adequacy and effectiveness of trading partners’ protection of intellectual property rights.
301 Report Highlights
- The Report’s Executive Summary stated that a priority of the Biden administration is to craft trade policy in service of America’s
U.S. and China Sign “Phase One” Trade Deal
Today President Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He signed a “Phase One” trade agreement, the first formal text agreement between the two sides since the United States initiated the Section 301 investigation in August 2017, which has since led to mounting U.S. and Chinese tariffs affecting bilateral trade.
The agreement does not specifically
Stage Set for USMCA Debate in 2019
On December 1, a day after signing the new U.S.-Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA), President Trump suggested to the press that he would formally notify Canada and Mexico of U.S. withdrawal from the existing NAFTA, in order to pressure Congress to pass USMCA in 2019.
Meanwhile, on December 6, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer met with
U.S. and China Agree to 90-Day Trade Truce to Negotiate “Structural” Trade Issues
On December 1, President Trump and President Xi reached agreement on the margins of the G20 in Buenos Aires to delay an increase on the third, $200 billion tranche of Section 301-related tariffs from 10% to 25%, which was originally set to take place January
European Commission announces new framework for foreign direct investment screening
On Tuesday, November 20, the European Commission announced a political agreement with EU member states on a new framework for foreign direct investment (FDI) screening. The legal text for the framework still needs to be finalized and released. The announcement can be found here.
According to the
Treasury CFIUS Pilot Program Overlaps with Made in China 2025 Sectors
On October 10, Treasury announced interim regulations to implement certain provisions of the Foreign Investment Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA), which President Trump signed into law on August 13, 2018.
As part of that announcement, Treasury will initiate a pilot program imposing mandatory declarations on transactions involving certain sensitive sectors. That pilot program is due to
2018 Midterm Elections Update: Impact on U.S. Trade Policy
The 116th Congress begins on January 3, 2019. Based on projections from yesterday’s midterms, Democrats will control the House of Representatives by a narrow margin, while Republicans will expand their hold on the Senate. The changes to Congress are likely to shape trade policy through 2019, but much will depend on how House Democrats use
Goodbye, NAFTA. Hello, USMCA…in 2020?
After more than a year of negotiation, the United States, Mexico and Canada reached an agreement to update the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which governed trade among the three nations. The new agreement may not go into effect until 2020 because leaders from the three countries must sign it and then Congress