ITC

The global rice industry, supplying a key food security crop for many countries, is a frequent target of government intervention in the form of subsidies and import restrictions that can distort the market, the U.S. International Trade Commission said in a new report, although its conclusions on the competitiveness of the U.S. industry are mixed. The ITC report was requested by House Ways & Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-MO) in February 2024 and released on Friday. Smith, in a...

Lawmakers from both chambers have reintroduced a bill aimed at updating trade remedy laws to target evolving unfair trade practices, including repeat offenders and Chinese subsidization, particularly via Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. The Leveling the Playing Field 2.0 Act would allow for “successive” investigations by the Commerce Department to account for trade remedy evasion and establish a process for the department to address cross-border subsidies – especially those provided via Belt and Road, which several of the bill’s sponsors...

President Trump’s Feb. 18 executive order asserting control over independent agencies likely was not intended to target the U.S. International Trade Commission, according to former ITC staff and trade lawyers, but the breadth of the order could compel some changes at the agency. Trump’s order on “ Ensuring accountability for all agencies ” takes aim at independent agencies, charging that “previous administrations have allowed so-called ‘independent regulatory agencies’ to operate with minimal Presidential supervision. These regulatory agencies currently exercise substantial...

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has withdrawn requests made under the Biden administration to the U.S. International Trade Commission for studies on the effects of trade policy on underserved communities and small businesses. The requests, issued by then-USTR Katherine Tai, reflected a Biden administration focus on making policies – including trade policy – more equitable. They included a series of follow-on probes that Tai had requested after an earlier report by the commission revealed a lack of data...

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai has asked the U.S. International Trade Commission to begin a fact-finding probe into the distributional effects of trade on U.S. micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, especially those led by people in underserved and overburdened communities. In a Dec. 27 letter to ITC Chair Amy Karpel, Tai said she was focused on “advancing the health and security of U.S. micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises” and, accordingly, wants USTR to have better information on how to do...

A Biden administration nominee to serve on the U.S. International Trade Commission withdrew his nomination ahead of a Wednesday Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing for three prospective commissioners, leaving two to testify despite indications that the Senate will not approve them this Congress. William Kimmitt, first nominated for ITC commissioner during the Trump administration and renominated by President Biden in July, withdrew his nomination before the Wednesday hearing, a Finance Committee spokesperson told Inside U.S. Trade . No reason was...

Editor's note: William Kimmitt, one of the nominees, has withdrawn his nomination ; he did not appear at the hearing on Wednesday. United Steelworkers is urging the Senate Finance Committee to reject a nominee to the U.S. International Trade Commission because she has advocated policies that prioritize free trade “at the expense” of U.S. workers and has criticized the U.S.’ use of Section 301 and 232 tariffs, the union charged on Monday. The Finance Committee on Wednesday will hold...