Tag Archives: U.S. tariffs

What special relationship? Canada grimaces amid hail of U.S. trade blows

By David Ljunggren

OTTAWA (Reuters) – After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held a cordial first meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden in February, marking an end to years of battles with the Trump administration, a relieved Canadian official said, “We feel we are off to the races here.”

But old trade disputes that flared up during the Trump years show no signs of fading.

Last month Washington announced plans to double duties on imports of Canadian lumber and requested a dispute panel on Canada’s dairy import quotas. Biden is also promising a Buy America procurement plan that could hurt Canadian exporters.

The timing is awkward for Trudeau ahead of a likely election later this year, especially since his ruling center-left Liberals have traditionally enjoyed better relationships with the Democrats than the opposition Conservative Party.

“Canada’s economic relationship with the United States is breaking down rapidly,” said Candice Bergen, deputy Conservative leader, noting that “for months the Liberals have been telling us how much they agree with the Americans.”

The Trump era was exhausting for Canada, which sends 75% of its goods exports to the United States. At one point Trump called Trudeau “dishonest and weak” and threatened to tear up the North American Free Trade Agreement unless it could be renegotiated.

But the new-found cordial atmosphere has not blunted a dispute over U.S. allegations Canada is unfairly limiting imports of dairy products. Another contentious issue is Canadian softwood lumber exports, which U.S. producers have long complained are unfairly subsidized.

On lumber, “the United States has not been willing to reach an agreement; We are,” Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan tersely told legislators last month.

Signs of trouble emerged early. Within hours of taking power, Biden revoked the permit needed to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline, killing an $8 billion project that would have brought Canadian crude to U.S. markets.

Canadian officials now want the White House to help solve another energy challenge in Michigan, where the governor wants to close a pipeline operated by Canada’s Enbridge Inc. The Biden team has declined to intervene.

Yet despite the recent unhappiness, there are big differences between the two U.S. administrations, Canadian officials say.

Biden, unlike Trump, is not threatening to scrap continental free trade. He has also not imposed tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel on national security grounds.

Canadian Foreign Minister Marc Garneau played down suggestions of a rift.

“We can’t eliminate all the different issues that are important for the Americans. We have to deal with them one by one,” he told a Montreal business audience this month. “There is always going to be a bit of back and forth between our two nations.”

In private, however, Canadian officials are even blunter.

“The idea the Biden administration is bad for us on trade is nonsense,” said one senior source with direct knowledge of government thinking. “The Canada-U.S. trading relationship is largely open and free flowing.”

Chris Sands, head of the Canada Institute at the Washington-based Wilson Center, said Ottawa had been too optimistic about the potential for cooperation.

“I do think expectations ran ahead of the likely way that the Biden administration would unfold… most people thought something different was going to emerge,” he told Reuters.

The headaches show no signs of easing. Last Friday, Canada requested a dispute settlement panel to address U.S. tariffs on Canadian solar products.

“These tariffs are unwarranted and damaging,” complained Trade Minister Mary Ng.

The U.S. Trade Representative’s office did not directly address questions about increasing tensions.

“We have a close relationship with Canada and routinely collaborate on a range of topics,” said spokesman Adam Hodge.

(Additional reporting by Steve Scherer in Ottawa and Nia Williams in Calgary; Editing by Steve Scherer and Dan Grebler)

Many key China issues still ‘under review’ at Biden’s first 100 days

By Michael Martina and Matt Spetalnick

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – As U.S. President Joe Biden’s first 100 days come to a close this week, a number of key policy positions and contentious issues remain “under review,” to use the White House’s terminology.

They stretch from deep-seated economic issues a generation in the making to controversial policies introduced by Republican President Donald Trump’s government, which preceded the Democratic Biden administration.

Many relate to China, the United States’ strategic competitor, a rivalry that Biden has starkly defined, most recently in a speech to Congress on Wednesday, as a struggle between democracy and autocracy for control of the global economy in the 21st century.

The Biden administration has begun to flesh out an overarching strategy to compete with China that relies on renewing relations with partners like India and allies like Japan and South Korea, and heavy domestic investment.

But critics say slow reviews of specific policies could cost U.S. companies and the economy.

After Biden’s speech, Republican Senator Mitt Romney told reporters, “I don’t believe we yet have as a nation a comprehensive strategy to deal with a China intent on dominating the world, eventually.”

“We don’t have the luxury of time to sit around and marvel at the problem,” said one Republican aide in the House of Representatives, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We need action and specific policies in place.”

The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the Republican criticism of their policy reviews. Democrats argue privately, however, that the administration is still racing to get crucial jobs filled.

Biden has yet to name an ambassador to China and many other countries, or to fill a key post at the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, which oversees exports of critical U.S. technology to China.

Administration officials have said they will look to add “new targeted restrictions” on some sensitive technology exports to China in cooperation with allies, but have not offered further details.

TARIFFS ON CHINESE GOODS

The Biden administration has said it will conduct a thorough review of U.S. tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on nearly $400 billion worth of Chinese goods, but it has not given a deadline.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a recent interview that the United States was not ready to lift the duties, in part because of the leverage it gives American negotiators.

The tariffs cost U.S manufacturers $80 billion, the Tax Foundation think tank reported last September. China has fallen short of pledges to buy U.S. goods made in a January 2020 trade deal.

SUPPLY CHAIN REVIEW

Biden launched a 100-day review of risks to critical supply chains in February, citing the United States’ need for secure, diverse, dependable goods in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, electric vehicle batteries, and rare earth minerals.

The Defense, Commerce, Energy, Agriculture, Transportation, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services departments are expected to submit reports addressing supply chain resiliency due one year after the February order.

INVESTMENT BAN

The Biden administration also has not addressed how it will use a tough sanctioning tool introduced by Trump that would prohibit U.S. investments in Chinese companies that the previous administration said were owned or controlled by the Chinese military.

NORTH KOREA

The Biden administration has signaled for weeks it is finalizing a broad review of North Korea (Successive U.S. administrations have sought to persuade the Stalinist country to part with its nuclear weapons.) A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Wednesday the administration was “closer to the end of that review than we are to the beginning,” but offered no details.

The White House has shared little about the review and whether it will offer concessions to get Pyongyang to return to talks. It has simultaneously signaled a hard line on human rights, denuclearization and sanctions, while making diplomatic overtures that officials say have been rebuffed by Pyongyang, which has long demanded economic sanctions relief.

CUBA, VENEZUELA

Biden promised during the 2020 presidential campaign to reverse parts of Trump’s harsh measures against Cuba, and aides have said they are looking especially at Trump’s last-minute decision to designate Havana as a state sponsor of terrorism.

But the new administration appears to be in no rush. And any significant move of this type would risk a political backlash in the crucial swing state of Florida ahead of the 2022 congressional midterm elections. Trump’s hardline approach was popular among the Miami area’s large Cuban-American population, helping him win the state in November though he lost the presidential election.

Among the other issues still being decided are how to craft a new policy on Venezuela, where Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign of sanctions failed to dislodge socialist President Nicolas Maduro, and how to close the internationally condemned U.S. military prison for foreign suspects at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba.

(Reporting by Michael Martina, Matt Spetalnick, David Brunnstrom, Andrea Shalal, Trevor Hunnicutt and Patricia Zengerle in Washington; Editing by Heather Timmons and Jonathan Oatis)

China says hopes it can reach trade agreement with U.S. as soon as possible

China says hopes it can reach trade agreement with U.S. as soon as possible
BEIJING (Reuters) – China said on Monday that it hoped to make a trade deal with the United States as soon as possible, amid intense discussions before fresh U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports are due to kick in at the end of the week.

Beijing hopes it can reach a trade agreement with the United States that satisfies both sides, Assistant Commerce Minister Ren Hongbin told reporters on Monday.

“On the question of China-U.S. trade talks and negotiations, we wish that both sides can, on the foundation of equality and mutual respect, push forward negotiations, and in consideration of each others’ core interests, reach an agreement that satisfies all sides as soon as possible,” Ren said.

China and the United States are negotiating a so-called “phase one” deal aimed at de-escalating their prolonged trade dispute, but it is unclear whether such an agreement can be reached in the near term.

Washington’s next round of tariffs against Chinese goods are scheduled to take effect on Dec. 15.

China has demanded that some of the existing U.S. tariffs imposed on about $375 billion worth of its exports be removed, in addition to cancellation of the Dec. 15 tariffs on some $156 billion of its remaining exports to the United States.

U.S. President Donald Trump has demanded that China commit to specific minimum purchases of U.S. agricultural products, among other concessions on intellectual property rights, currency and access to China’s financial services markets.

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Friday that the two sides had talked almost daily, but there were currently no plans for face-to-face talks or a signing ceremony between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

With less than a week to go before the deadline amid “intense” negotiations, Kudlow said Trump would make the final decision on the tariffs, which would hit Chinese-made cellphones, laptop computers, toys and clothing.

“We’ll have to see, but right now we’re moving along,” Trump said last week. “On December 15th, something could happen, but we are not discussing that yet. We are having very good discussions with China, however.”

(Reporting by Gabriel Crossley, writing by Se Young Lee and Ryan Woo; Editing by Himani Sarkar & Kim Coghill)

U.S. wants ‘near term’ results from new China trade talks: Kudlow

FILE PHOTO: White House chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow talks with reporters on the driveway outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, U.S. August 2, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

By David Lawder and Makini Brice

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Trump administration wants to see “near term results” from U.S.-China trade talks in September and October, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Friday, but he declined to predict any outcomes or say if U.S. tariff delays were possible.

Speaking on CNBC and Bloomberg TV, Kudlow confirmed that the top U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators would meet in early October but added that a date had not been set.

The plans for the first in-person U.S.-China trade meetings since late July were set during a phone call on Thursday between Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Trade deputies are due to meet in mid-September.

The 14-month U.S.-China trade war has escalated sharply since May when talks broke down after Beijing backtracked on earlier commitments to make changes in law to improve intellectual property protections, curb the forced transfer of U.S. technology to Chinese firms and improve U.S. access to Chinese markets.

Since then, U.S. President Donald Trump has sharply increased existing tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods and imposed or scheduled new tariffs on virtually all remaining imports from China to increase his negotiating leverage.

Kudlow told Bloomberg TV that he could not speculate on whether the September or October talks could delay a planned tariff increase on Oct. 1 to 30% from 25% on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods.

“Our team would like to go back and pick up where we left off in the May talks. Whether that will be possible remains to be seen,” Kudlow said.

He said Trump has shown willingness to use tariffs as part of the negotiating process.

“We want to see results. We would like to see results in the near term. When we don’t see results, we take additional actions,” Kudlow said. “On the other hand, if we do see results from these upcoming meetings, then progress will be made.”

Kudlow also said there were no preconditions for the October talks.

Trump later said on Twitter that China was hurting economically from the U.S. tariffs but that the new round of talks were positive.

“‘China is eating the Tariffs,'” Trump tweeted. “Billions pouring into USA. Targeted Patriot Farmers getting massive Dollars from the incoming Tariffs! Good Jobs Numbers, No Inflation(Fed). China having worst year in decades. Talks happening, good for all!”

(Reporting by Susan Heavey, Tim Ahmann and David Lawder; Writing by David Lawder and Makini Brice; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Steve Orlofsky)

China to counter latest U.S. tariffs as Trump vows deal on U.S. terms

Containers are seen at Yantian port in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China July 4, 2019. Picture taken July 4, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer

BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – China on Thursday vowed to counter the latest U.S. tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese goods but called on the United States to meet it halfway on a potential trade deal, as U.S. President Donald Trump said any pact would have to be on America’s terms.

The Chinese finance ministry said in a statement that Washington’s tariffs, set to start next month, violated a consensus reached between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at a June summit in Japan to resolve their disputes via negotiation.

In a separate statement, China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, said, “We hope the U.S. will meet China halfway, and implement the consensus of the two heads of the two countries in Osaka.”

China hopes to find mutually acceptable solutions through dialogue and consultation on the basis of equality and mutual respect, she added.

Trump, who is seeking re-election in 2020 and had made the economy and his tough stance on China a key part of his 2016 campaign for the White House, on Thursday said any agreement must meet U.S. demands.

“China, frankly, would love to make a deal, and it’s got to be a deal on proper terms. It’s got to be a deal, frankly, on our terms. Otherwise, what’s the purpose?” Trump said in an interview on New Hampshire radio station WGIR.

The trade picture is further complicated by continuing unrest in Hong Kong, which Trump on Wednesday tied to any possible agreement, saying Xi must first work out the situation in the territory with protesters.

On Thursday, he used Twitter to call on the Chinese president to personally meet with protesters to spur “a happy and enlightened ending to the Hong Kong problem.”

Trump and Xi in June had agreed to restart trade talks after negotiations stalled earlier this year. But earlier this month, the Trump administration said it would slap duties beginning Sept. 1 on $300 billion of Chinese goods, which would effectively cover all of China’s exports to the United States.

Trump backed off part of the plan this week, delaying duties on certain items such as cellphones, laptops and other consumer goods, in the hopes of blunting their impact on U.S. holiday sales. Tariffs will still apply to those products starting in mid-December.

The move has roiled global markets and further unnerved investors as the trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies stretches into its second year with no end in sight.

China’s threat to impose countermeasures further sent global stocks sprawling on Thursday with oil also deepening its slide over recession fears, although U.S. stocks opened higher on Thursday amid strong retail sales data.

Trump, in his radio interview on Thursday, dismissed investors’ worries.

“We had a couple of bad days but … we’re going to have some very good days because we had to take on China,” he told WGIR.

(Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk; additional reporting by Susan Heavey and Makini Brice in Washington; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Jonathan Oatis)

U.S.-China trade talks to resume in Beijing next week: White House

FILE PHOTO - A worker places U.S. and China flags near the Forbidden City ahead of a visit by U.S. President Donald Trump to Beijing, in Beijing, China November 8, 2017. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The United States and China will hold trade talks in Beijing next week, with deputy-level meetings to start on Monday and high-level talks to follow, a White House spokeswoman said on Friday.

The two countries are trying to hammer out a trade deal weeks ahead of a March deadline when U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods are scheduled to increase.

Escalating tensions between the United States and China have cost both countries billions of dollars and roiled global financial markets. Top-level negotiators and President Donald Trump met last week in Washington, but it’s unclear that the two sides will have a deal agreed by March 2.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin will travel to Beijing for principal-level meetings that will take place Feb. 14-15, the White House statement said. Deputy-level meetings led by Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish kick off on Monday.

(Reporting by Chris Prentice; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Phil Berlowitz)