Canada

Lawmakers, local officials, seasonal growers and agriculture industry representatives on Thursday implored the Trump administration to take action against allegedly trade-distorting subsidies from the Mexican government for perishable produce exports to the U.S.

The Canadian government next month will apply tariffs on approximately $2.7 billion worth of U.S. aluminum and aluminum-containing products in response to the Trump administration’s re-imposition of Section 232 tariffs on Canadian aluminum, the country’s deputy prime minister announced on Friday.

The Trump administration intends to impose tariffs of 10 percent on some aluminum from Canada, sources tell Inside U.S. Trade, adding that the duties will take effect on Aug. 16.

The U.S. could impose new Section 232 restrictions on Canadian aluminum as soon as Friday, sources tell Inside U.S. Trade.

The officials pointed to provisions in the small and medium-sized enterprises and competitiveness chapters among others.

“I highlighted to the president that the pandemic has disrupted usual manufacturing processes and supply chains, and that has caused certain disruption in the aluminum sector that is starting to realign itself.”

Former General Counsel Jennifer Hillman and former Associate General Counsel Kathleen Claussen were among the “non-national” prospective panelists agreed to by Canada and Mexico.

More than a dozen members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on Wednesday urged President Trump to cancel an upcoming meeting with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to celebrate the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, calling it a distraction from the administration’s handling of the coronavirus and questioning why it is not expected to be trilateral.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has announced a roster of panelists eligible to serve on state-to-state dispute settlement panels as well as appointees to oversee the enforcement of a new rapid-response mechanism under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.