Trade Cases
Leibowitz on Trade: U.S.-China Trade Dispute on Hold
Written by Lewis Leibowitz
June 30, 2019
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington:
On Saturday in Osaka, Japan, U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed not to impose any new trade restrictions and to resume negotiations on a general agreement to resolve their ongoing disputes.
There are a few blanks to fill in, but the outlines of the arrangement so far seem to be: (1) the U.S. will not impose any new tariffs, including the 25 percent tariffs on about $300 billion of imports from China that the U..S Trade Representative had proposed; (2) the orders to “blacklist” Huawei, one of China’s largest electronics companies, are likely to be modified, but no details were available as of Sunday afternoon; (3) the 25 percent tariffs on $250 billion in U.S. imports from China will remain in place; and (4) discussions between the U.S., chaired by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will resume, but no details have emerged on the timing or content of the discussions.
As of now, the USTR exclusion process for List 3 tariffs (the $200 billion of imports that was increased in May to 25 percent from 10 percent) remains in place. Exclusion requests may be submitted from today (June 30) through Sept. 30. I have mentioned this process in previous updates. In addition, China has launched a product exclusion process for the tariffs that country imposed in retaliation for the U.S. tariffs on Chinese exports. The deadline for filing an exclusion request is July 3 for the first two lists and Oct. 18 for the third list. The third Chinese list covers $60 billion of U.S. exports to China.
Huawei appears to be considerably better off under the interim deal; as noted, however, the Department of Commerce has not withdrawn any findings or penalties on Huawei up to now. Stay tuned for further developments in the coming week.
Lewis Leibowitz
The Law Office of Lewis E. Leibowitz
1400 16th Street, N.W.
Suite 350
Washington, D.C. 20036
Phone: (202) 776-1142
Fax: (202) 861-2924
Cell: (202) 250-1551
Lewis Leibowitz
Read more from Lewis LeibowitzLatest in Trade Cases
China challenges Canada’s tariffs on steel, aluminum, EVs
China is challenging Canada’s decision to put tariffs on imports of Chinese steel, aluminum, and electric vehicles.
Leibowitz: Harris, Trump don’t talk much about steel and trade – because they (mostly) agree
By most accounts, the issues that are most important for voters in this election are the economy, immigration, and abortion. International trade policy plays a key role in at least two of those three (the economy and immigration). Both presidential candidates recognize that trade and tariffs are an important focus. And “America first” is a rallying point for both candidates.
Commerce launches investigation into imports of coated flat-rolled steel
On Thursday, the Department of Commerce announced it would initiate investigations into coated steel imports from ten countries.
Op-Ed: Despite misclassification games, import data supports surge of Mexican conduit
Barry Zekelman, chairman and CEO of Zekelman Industries, says the import data unquestionably supports the fact that imports of Mexican conduit have been surging into the US market.
Leibowitz: The Mexican steel import “surge”—and what to do about it
US presidential campaigns frequently sport an “air of unreality.” No more so than the 2024 campaign, where superlatives fly around like mosquitos. Steel trade has been a feature of political discourse for at least half a century now. Just last week, it proceeded to a new level of “unreality.” Four senators - Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Mike Braun (R-Ind.) - wrote a “bipartisan” letter attacking Mexican exports of steel to the United States. They framed it as a “surge” in US steel imports from Mexico. To address this “surge,” the Senators urge the imposition of 25% tariffs on all steel imports from Mexico.