U.S. Trade Policy and Tariff Actions
- USTR Requests Comments on the Operation of USMCA: On 5 October, USTR published a Federal Register Notice seeking comments in advance of the 2027 annual joint review meeting for the United States-Mexico-Canada-Agreement (USMCA) (USTR Press Release available here). This is the first joint review following the United States’ rejection to extend USMCA for a new 16-year term in July 2026 and are anticipated to occur annually until the three parties come to an agreement or USMCA expires in 2036. Comments are due on 12 January 2027.
- USTR is seeking comments on the operation of USMCA, including comments related to:
- Any aspect of the operation or implementation of USMCA.
- Any issues of compliance with USMCA.
- Recommendations for specific actions that USTR should propose ahead of the joint review.
- Factors affecting the investment climate in North America and in the territories of each Party, as well as the effectiveness of the USMCA in promoting investment that strengthens U.S. competitiveness, productivity, and technological leadership; and
- Strategies for strengthening North American economic security and competitiveness and cooperation on issues related to non-market policies and practices.
- USTR Publishes US-China Board of Trade Products Recommended for Reduced Tariff Treatment: On 27 September, the White House released lists of non-strategic goods from both China and the US that will be considered for future tariff reductions under a “30-for-30 framework”. The announcement came as President Xi’s finished his State Visit to the US, during which both sides discussed operationalizing the US-China Board of Trade (fact sheet). In addition to the lists of goods considered for tariff reductions, the release outlined the working procedures and terms of reference for how the US-China Board of Trade will be implemented.
- Tariff reductions are not immediate, and the date of implementation is not yet known. PMMI priority packaging and processing machinery of headings 8422 and 8438 from the US and China were not included in the initial lists. Please see the following links for each list of non-strategic goods: U.S. Import List and China Import List.
- G20 trade ministerial ends without consensus on forced labor or overcapacity: The G20 Ministerial took place on September 30-October 1 without issuing joint statements on structural excess overcapacity or forced labor. These two issues underpin the current the U.S. Section 301 tariff actions currently in effect on 59 countries plus the EU, and the failure to reach G20 consensus may complicate ongoing bilateral trade negotiations with countries targeted by those measures. However, Mexico and Argentina did sign onto a joint statement with the United States regarding eliminating forced labor in supply chains, signaling efforts to work with the United States on addressing concerns outlined in the Section 301 investigation.
