This Week In Trade

Congress will spend a fair share of time on trade this week, with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross set to brief the House Ways & Means Committee on steel and aluminum Section 232 investigations Thursday and the House Agriculture Committee holding a hearing on NAFTA on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, United Kingdom International Trade Secretary Liam Fox will meet with Trump administration officials Monday and Tuesday to kick off the first meeting of the UK-U.S. Trade and Investment Working Group. The talks are supposed to lay the groundwork for formal trade negotiations between the two countries after the UK exits the European Union.

Democrats will also unveil their new agenda, “A Better Deal,” Monday afternoon in Berryville, Virginia. In a New York Times op-ed, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote that in the months ahead, Democrats will offer policies aimed at “fundamentally changing our trade laws to benefit workers, not multinational corporations.”

Sources have told Inside U.S. Trade that Schumer is working on a bill that would beef up trade enforcement and add a so-called economic “net benefit” test to CFIUS review criteria.

On Tuesday, Ross will speak at the Economic Club in downtown Washington. Later that evening, President Trump will hold a rally in Youngstown, OH, where his trade agenda could be a talking point.

Ross is going to brief the Ways & Means Committee Thursday at the request of its Chairman, Kevin Brady (R-TX), who has urged the administration to take a measured and precise approach to the Section 232 investigations out of concern that other countries will use actions stemming from it to justify retaliation.

Sources said they expected the Ways & Means briefing to be similar to one with the Senate Finance Committee, where Ross made his case by providing data and charts on the U.S. steel industry and import statistics. They added that the House meeting was unlikely to produce an indication of what actions the administration is considering – or whether it prefers one over another. Trump has recently floated the idea of imposing tariffs and quotas on steel imports.

Ross will also meet with the UK’s Fox this week.

Fox and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will launch the Trade and Investment Working Group, with discussions “expected to focus on providing certainty, continuity and increasing confidence for UK and U.S. businesses as the UK leaves the EU and explore ways to strengthen our trade and commercial ties ahead of exit, consistent with our EU membership obligations,” the UK’s embassy said.

“Whilst the UK cannot conclude a free trade agreement ahead of leaving the EU, the group will provide the mechanism for preparing the ground for a potential free trade agreement once the UK has left,” it added.

Fox added that “although it’s too early to say exactly what would be covered in a potential deal, the working group is the means to ensure we get to know each other’s issues and identify areas where we can work together to strengthen trade and investment ties.” 

“Our work as an international economic department has never been more important and our exit from the European Union offers an unprecedented opportunity to reshape our independent trading ambitions and build on the already strong trading relationship with our single largest trading partner – the U.S.,” he said.

Fox on Monday morning gave remarks at the America Enterprise Institute, touching on the UK's trade outlook going forward, its future relationship with the U.S. and its strong commitment to the global rules based system, including the WTO.

Monday evening, Fox will have dinner with UK and U.S. business representatives to gather input on trade and investment between the UK and U.S. Tuesday morning, Fox will host a breakfast with members of Congress, where he will stress the benefits of trade between congressional districts and the UK.

Fox will then travel to Mexico to talk trade with Minister of the Economy Ildefonso Guajardo. Following that, Fox will hop back across the border to Houston and hold meetings with the chemical, gas and oil sectors.

In Geneva, the World Trade Organization on Monday will release its Monitoring Report on Trade and Trade-Related Measures implemented by WTO members from Oct. 16, 2016 to May 15, 2017.

The WTO’s Director-General Roberto Azevêdo has a packed schedule this week. On Monday, he will meet with the chairs of the WTO negotiating groups and the chair of the 11th Ministerial Confrence, Susana Malcorra, who until earlier this year served as Argentina’s foreign minister. Argentina will host the 11th WTO ministerial in Buenos Aires this December, and members are most optimistic about reaching an outcome on fisheries subsidies by the time they convene in Argentina.

Also on Monday, Azevêdo will speak at an e-commerce seminar, hold consultations on cotton policies and address an informal meeting of the Trade Policy Review Body.

On Tuesday, Azevêdo will chair an informal Heads of Delegation meeting. Members the following day will meet for a General Council meeting, which could extend to Thursday. – Jack Caporal (jcaporal@iwpnews.com)