USTR, in ‘unprecedented’ action, directs block of Peruvian timber imports

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, in what he called an “unprecedented enforcement action,” today directed Customs and Border Protection to block timber imports from a Peruvian exporter the U.S. says engaged in illegal harvesting practices. [Isabelle Hoagland | October 19, 2017 | Inside US Trade] By invoking a never-before used timber verification provision in the U.S.-Peru…

What Peter Navarro gets right on trade

From the moment it came out late Tuesday night, it was widely chuckled at in Washington policy circles: Two ham-handed slides obtained by the Washington Post, reportedly authored by the White House’s main trade advisor, blaming a “weakened manufacturing base” for problems ranging from factory closures and job losses to drug use and dropping marriage rates. [Danny…

Internal White House documents allege manufacturing decline increases abortions, infertility, and spousal abuse

White House officials working on trade policy were alarmed last month when a top adviser to President Trump circulated a two-page document that alleged a weakened manufacturing sector leads to an increase in abortion, spousal abuse, divorce and infertility, two people familiar with the matter said. [Damian Paletta | October 17, 2017 | Washington Post]…

Press Release: Domestic Producers Support Several Administration NAFTA Proposals

Washington ~ The Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) expressed support for several Trump administration proposals changing NAFTA. Those proposals include: 1.Increased reciprocity in government procurement; 2.Stronger rules of origin; 3.Automatic sunsetting of NAFTA after five years. “The multinational offshoring lobby and foreign governments want to continue the unbalanced NAFTA relationship,” said Dan DiMicco, CPA…

Sources: USTR shared NAFTA proposals with Capitol Hill despite interagency opposition

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has shared controversial proposals it intends to table in the NAFTA negotiations with the congressional committees of jurisdiction even though other government agencies objected to moving forward with them, sources said, leaving some to question whether the interagency process is broken. [Jenny Leonard | September 27, 2017 |…