What does “Hamilton” have to do with trade policy? More than you might think in the case of acting U.S. Trade Representative Stephen Vaughn, who counts himself among the hit Broadway musical’s legions of fans. [DOUG PALMER] April, 27th 2017 [Politico] Vaughn, a history buff as well as a trade lawyer, says he has…
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Monday today outlined several issues that should be addressed in a renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement — including services, rules of origin, digital trade and dispute settlement — while downplaying a West Wing debate over whether to withdraw from the agreement. [Brett Fortnam] May 1st, 2017 [Inside…
The United States will scrap agreements suspending antidumping and countervailing duties on Mexican sugar and re-impose those trade remedies on June 5 unless the two governments agree on a renegotiated version of the deal, the Commerce Department announced on May 1. [Jack Caporal] May 1st, 2017 [Inside U.S. Trade] “While I regret that such measures…
President Trump, on his 100th day in office Saturday, signed an executive order establishing “the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy” — an entity to be run by Peter Navarro, who was originally named to head the White House National Trade Council. [Jenny Leonard] April 29th, 2017 [Inside U.S. Trade] The executive order says the White House…
by Michael Stumo, CEO of CPA The media was aghast last week that some Trump administration personnel had drafted a proposal to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as well as a proposal to renegotiate it. Later reports said the White House was not going to advance the proposal to end NAFTA,…
Editor’s note: CEO of CPA, Michael Stumo, was interviewed by Inside US Trade to discuss Trump’s first 100 days. Michael Stumo, the CEO of the Coalition for Prosperous America — which includes members from various industry and labor groups — said he is generally pleased with the direction of Trump’s trade policy so far,…
Chinese media reports questioning the ownership and funding of big-spending conglomerate HNA Group were pulled suddenly after publication from mainland websites and social media on Monday. [He Huifeng] April 24th, 2017 [South China Morning Post] One of the missing reports, by The Beijing News, questioned how HNA, Hainan Airlines Group, was able to evolve from…
U.S. Trade Representative nominee Robert Lighthizer was unanimously approved by the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday, sending his nomination to the Senate floor. [Dan Dupont] April 25th, 2017 [Inside U.S. Trade] The panel also approved a statutory waiver to allow him to serve as USTR. The quick approval followed weeks of debate among Republicans and…
House and Senate Democrats on Tuesday released a report on President Trump’s “broken promises” to American workers, included the administration’s decision not to label China a currency manipulator, its failure to date to launch NAFTA renegotiations and a lack of action on various “Buy American” proposals. [Charlie Mitchell] April 25th, 2017 [Inside U.S. Trade] The…
President Donald Trump again leveled criticism about NAFTA in an interview with the Associated Press, promising to either renegotiate the trade deal or terminate it. [CHARLIE SPIERING] April 24th, 2017 [Breitbart] “I am going to either renegotiate it or I am going to terminate it,” he said. “If they don’t treat fairly, I am terminating NAFTA.” Trump…
