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Margaret Spiegelman

Margaret Spiegelman

Margaret Spiegelman is an associate editor with Inside U.S. Trade.

Archived Articles

U.S. tomato growers, Mexico at odds over U.S. deal with Mexican industry

U.S. tomato growers and Mexico are wrangling over the terms of a suspension agreement between the Commerce Department and Mexican tomato growers -- a deal domestic producers say has not been properly enforced since the agreement went into effect. Under the deal, signed in September 2019, Commerce agreed to suspend an antidumping investigation into Mexican tomato imports while Mexican growers committed to sell their produce in the U.S. at or above a reference price to eliminate harm to U.S. growers...

U.S. trucking industry, Mexico set to spar over USMCA implementation

A high-ranking Mexican official is warning of a possible spat with the U.S. over its implementation of controversial trucking provisions in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement -- provisions the U.S. industry might soon use to launch a petition alleging material harm by Mexico’s long-haul trucking sector, according to an industry stakeholder. Luz María de la Mora Sánchez, under secretary for foreign trade in Mexico’s Economy Secretariat, told Inside U.S. Trade in an interview that her office was closely tracking a host...

First chief IP negotiator could take on broad portfolio at USTR

The U.S.’ first chief trade negotiator for innovation and intellectual property could take on a wide slate of responsibilities, from stepping up enforcement of IP obligations in U.S. trade agreements to negotiating new deals bilaterally and multilaterally, according to sources and an industry representative. Following months of pressure from lawmakers and industry, President Biden earlier this month nominated Christopher Wilson for the position of chief IP negotiator at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The role has been vacant...

De la Mora: U.S. view of USMCA auto rules of origin imperils industry

The U.S.’ interpretation of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s automotive rules of origin, which could lead to the formation of a dispute panel under the deal, poses a threat to the North American auto industry as a whole, according to Luz María de la Mora Sánchez, under secretary for foreign trade in Mexico’s Economy Secretariat. Mexico on Friday requested consultations with the U.S. under USMCA over differing interpretations of methodologies for calculating the regional value content for vehicles – a disagreement that...

Mexico launches USMCA consultations with U.S. on auto rules of origin

Mexico on Friday requested consultations with the U.S. over differing interpretations of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement's automotive rules of origin. In an Aug. 20 letter addressed to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, Mexican Economy Secretary Tatiana Clouthier called for consultations “for the purpose of avoiding or settling a potential dispute regarding the manner in which the Government of the United States of America, by its interpretation, is imposing certain requirements on motor vehicle producers that are inconsistent with the text of...

Republican senators urge Tai to prioritize Kenya FTA negotiations

Republican senators are pressing U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to prioritize negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement with Kenya, which they say would “build on” the African Growth and Opportunity Act and integration efforts underway on the continent. In an Aug. 20 letter to Tai , seven Republican senators -- including Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-ID) and former Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) -- said a U.S.-Kenya FTA would be “the appropriate next step in...

GM workers in Mexico reject ‘protection’ union following USMCA action

Workers at a General Motors plant in Silao, Mexico, cast their ballots this week for a second time -- this time without incident -- to reject their longtime union in an early test of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s novel rapid-response mechanism for labor violations, the Mexican government said on Thursday. The second vote came after reports of ballot destruction and intimidation during a collective bargaining agreement vote in April. The U.S., following those reports, brought a dispute against Mexico under the...

U.S. industry petitions Commerce to address alleged solar AD/CVD dodging

A group of U.S. solar manufacturers on Monday filed petitions with the Commerce Department alleging that Chinese companies are evading antidumping and countervailing duty orders on crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and modules and calling for duties to be extended to circumventing entities outside of China. The industry group, calling itself the American Solar Manufacturers Against Chinese Circumvention (or “A-SMACC”), requested that Commerce investigate imports of certain solar products from companies in Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand, where it says components are...

Sen. Casey’s outbound investment review proposal could move with NDAA, aide says

A proposal from Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) to create a screen on outbound investments that threaten national critical capabilities could advance as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, according to a congressional aide. The “ National Critical Capabilities Defense Act of 2021 ” would establish an interagency review process to consider the implications of outbound investments to foreign adversaries on national security and crisis preparedness. The U.S. Trade Representative, in consultation with the Commerce and Defense secretaries, would lead...

Conservationists urge USMCA action against Mexico to save vaquita

Conservation groups are calling on the U.S. to request consultation with Mexico under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement to address what the groups describe as Mexico’s failure to comply with environmental obligations under the agreement, which they claim put the vaquita porpoise at risk for total extinction within the year. According to the Center for Biological Diversity, the Animal Welfare Institute, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Environmental Investigation Agency, the vaquita are “the world’s smallest and most endangered cetacean” with...

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