On Friday, March 31, the U.S. Treasury launched their latest torpedo targeting the Inflation Reduction Act’s domestic manufacturing policies. This time, it’s over what countries have a “free trade agreement” with the United States. This is actually universally understood fact: there are twenty countries. But to grow the list beyond the twenty, so as to…
Last August, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, a sweeping bill that has already led to tens of billions in private investment into U.S. manufacturing. But the U.S. Treasury department’s haphazard, inchoate implementation of the electric vehicle purchasing tax credits has led to consumer chaos and uncertainty in the new car market. Worse yet,…
U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) has released a discussion draft of a sweeping, ambitious bill titled the “Americas Act”. The bill states its aim to “establish a regional trade, investment, and people-to-people partnership of countries in the Western Hemisphere”. But unlike every other U.S. trade agreement in the last century, the Americas Act actually undertakes…
By Charles Benoit, CPA Trade Counsel In December, the U.S.-China Commission, a group created by Congress to advise on managing the bilateral relationship, formally recommended that China lose its Most-Favored Nation (MFN) tariff status. Referencing the decision to grant China permanent MFN status in 2001, Speaker McCarthy said in remarks on the House floor yesterday…
Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio needs to be on the Senate Finance Committee for the good of the country. Even if Senator McConnell, the top Republican in the Senate, isn’t convinced about the good of the country part, he should see that not assigning Vance to Finance will surely doom Republicans to minority status in…
Last week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Office of Trade released false government statistics. CBP’s Office of Trade stated that the total value of de minimis shipments fell from $67,039,140,875 in CBP’s FY 2020, down to $39,876,651,152 in FY 2021. These numbers are not accurate, and in fact are certainly a gross, material undervaluation,…
The multilateral trading system, birthed on October 30, 1947, was unceremoniously knifed and left for dead by President Biden’s signing of the Inflation Reduction Act. This is an unprecedented move by the United States in our seventy-five year history as part of that system. Retaliation will come from much of the world. Here is what…
In a surprise development last night, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D, N.Y.) and Senator Joe Manchin (D, W.Va.), with support from President Biden, announced a deal on a massive tax, energy and healthcare legislative package. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), as of the time of this writing, has not indicated her support, and she’s a…
By Charles Benoit, CPA Trade Counsel Last month, President Biden stunned the trade community around the world when he announced a two-year legal immunity from our anti-dumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) laws for solar panels imported from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand or Vietnam (including Chinese ones that illegally circumvent duties through those countries). International cartels and…
Leading customs authorities make the case against de minimis commerce By Charles Benoit, CPA Trade Counsel “De minimis” treatment for imports, which is available if the shipper declares the value under $800, cannot be effectively policed, and undermines fundamental fairness. That was the message from top authorities in the customs field at a Washington International…
