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…
Senate Republicans, led by Mike Crapo, are willing to give the WTO more power over U.S. trade than the White House.
By Charles Benoit, CPA Trade Counsel An upcoming vote in Congress will be on par with the 2001 decision to grant China Permanent Normal Trade Relations. And Senate Finance Republicans are supporting it. They need to see the light.
Seventy-five years after the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade that led to the WTO, how has it turned out for the U.S.?
Cuba and North Korea don’t receive our Normal Trade Relations; Russian exports should face the same tariffs as they do. By Charles Benoit, CPA Trade Counsel Less than 10 years ago, by votes of 92-4 in the U.S. Senate and 365-43 in the House, Congress voted to grant Russia ‘Permanent Normal Trade Relations’ (PNTR). We…
By Charles Benoit, CPA Trade Counsel The American people don’t want to be dependent on China for things we need. But some senior Republicans in Congress continue to choose multinational corporations over Americans. By extension, they’re also choosing multinationals’ fealties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The current GOP troubles started last summer, when Senator…
By Charles Benoit, CPA Trade Counsel Regrettably, the Biden Administration announced last week that they’re open to tariff cuts to imports of Made-in-China merchandise. First up are 549 different products, mostly machinery and technology products. But more may be coming. Ambassador Tai stated in her recent speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies…
The Mexican & Guatemalan governments are working against their own peoples’ interests. Rather than weakening our rules of origin, North American leaders should be united in recapturing market share lost to China.