Trade

While the Senate Finance Committee easily approved the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) this week, the timing for a final ratification vote on the Senate floor remains unclear. The Senate committee approved the House-passed USMCA implementing legislation (H.R. 5430) by a 25-3 vote. Senate aides have said a full Senate vote on the accord likely will be delayed until after next week, since the legislation was referred to six other committees for review. “I look forward to a vote on the Senate floor, hopefully soon on final passage,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, ... Read More

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has scheduled a markup of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) for Jan. 7.  He said he expects the Senate to receive the legislation from the House by then. “This markup will move us closer to ratifying USMCA in early 2020,” Grassley said in a Dec. 20 announcement. “Farmers, manufacturers and all American workers will soon be able to benefit from a stronger and modernized trade agreement with Canada and Mexico.” More than a year after U.S., Canadian and Mexican heads of state announced the trade deal, the House ... Read More

President Donald Trump said this week that he would sign “phase one” of the trade deal with China on Jan. 15 at the White House. In a Dec. 31 tweet, Trump said he would sign the deal with “high level representatives of China” and that “at a later date” he would travel to Beijing, China, to begin talks on a “phase two” accord designed to focus on more structural reforms of the U.S.-Chinese trade relationship. No date for Trump’s trip has been announced. The White House announced the “phase one” trade deal between the United States and China on Dec. 13, but no details have been published. ... Read More

By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is revisiting whether to maintain or impose up to 100 percent additional tariffs on certain imports from the European Union (EU). USTR is accepting written comments by Jan. 13 concerning the proposed tariffs, as well as the potential impact they could have on U.S. interests. The proposed action, published in the Federal Register on Dec. 6, follows a Dec. 2 World Trade Organization (WTO) compliance panel report that rejected the EU’s claims that its modified practices ... Read More

By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media More than a year after U.S., Canadian and Mexican heads of state announced the trade deal, the House approved the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) by a strong bipartisan 385-41 vote on Dec. 19. “Having a sound and competitive free trade agreement with Mexico and Canada is critical to the continued economic success of the United States and the North American region,” said NGFA President and Chief Executive Officer Randy Gordon in a press statement following the vote. “The USMCA preserves or expands upon critical market ... Read More

The World Trade Organization’s (WTO) main body for settling trade disputes became inoperative on Dec. 10 after the terms of two of the three remaining members expired as the Trump administration continued to block new nominations. The WTO Appellate Body had been responsible for adjudicating contested rulings over disputes between member countries. There now is just one member remaining on the appellate body out of an original seven; a minimum of three is needed for the body to function. Over the past two years, President Trump has blocked nominations of new appellate body judges. He and ... Read More

President Donald Trump and House leaders completed negotiations on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on Dec. 10. While the House is expected to vote on the revised trade accord next week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R- Ky., has indicated the Senate will not have enough time to vote on the implementing legislation until next year. “We will not be doing USMCA in the Senate between now and next week," McConnell told reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday. “That will happen, in all likelihood, right after the (impeachment) trial is finished in the Senate.” Canadian Deputy Prime ... Read More