China

While the U.S. and China have resumed talks on a potential trade arrangement that could be struck at the G20 summit in Argentina later this month, according to White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow, Vice President Mike Pence said this week that any deal would have to include a complete “change of posture.”

The Wall Street Journal reports on a phone call that could pave the way for more substantive discussions.

While U.S. businesses are holding out hope that the U.S. and China will agree on at least “a deal to get a deal” when Presidents Trump and Xi Jinping meet at the G20 summit in Buenos Aries at the end of this month, a tight timetable, coupled with what some see as a lack of sufficient preparation for the talks, has muted industry expectations for a substantive outcome.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is considering opening an investigation into Chinese labor practices, eyeing the use of the Section 301 statute already employed to justify massive tariffs on Chinese goods, sources tell Inside U.S. Trade.

The semiconductor and microelectronics industry group says tariffs, trade tensions and new export controls are “forcing many companies to rethink their investment strategies.”

Advisers to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative are asking the administration to clarify the intent behind the inclusion of a non-market economy clause included in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, with some calling for the termination of such a provision before a deal is finalized.

President Trump on Friday said progress had been made in trade talks with China and suggested a deal could be struck with Beijing.

Sen. Warren alleges the department is favoring non-U.S. companies.

International Trade Commission members on Tuesday asked the aluminum industry why it did not ask for for an investigation into common alloy aluminum sheet imports before the Commerce Department self-initiated anti-dumping and countervailing duty probes earlier this year.