2017

Press reports have confirmed that Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani, a moderate who negotiated the joint nuclear deal and who has sought more positive relationships with western powers, won re-election over the hard-right conservative challenger, cleric Ebrahim Raisi. Rouhani reportedly received 57 percent of the vote to Raisi’s 38.5 percent, with the remaining votes split among…

Stating that “trade is critical to the economic strength of our country,” President Trump has proclaimed this week to be World Trade Week. In issuing this proclamation, the president stated that the United States will:

  • promote economic growth by strengthening the manufacturing base and expanding exports in manufacturing, agriculture, and the service industries;
  • challenge

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The Trump administration has renewed a necessary waiver regarding U.S. sanctions on Iran’s crude oil exports. This will allow Iran to continue to sell its oil in the international market despite existing U.S. sanctions that must be periodically waived under the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign…

The Trump administration formally notified Congress of its intent to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and Mexico, starting a 90-day clock for statutorily required consultations. This notification means that NAFTA negotiations with Canada and Mexico can begin no earlier than August 16, 2017. In the letter from U.S. Trade Representative…

After months of delays and requiring a waiver allowing him to serve as the U.S. trade representative (USTR), Robert Lighthizer was finally confirmed by the Senate on a vote of 82-14.

The delays in this vote were for a multitude of reasons. First and foremost, a section of the Trade Act of 1974 excludes anyone…

In response to President Trump’s Executive Order 13786 (see our update of April 3, “Executive Order Calls for Omnibus Report on Significant Trade Deficits”), the governments of Canada and Mexico have filed formal comments with the Department of Commerce ahead of the public hearing to be held on May 18, 2017.

While Mexico’s…

Asserting that importers who evade antidumping and countervailing duties in place against them expose U.S. employers to unfair competition and deprive the U.S. government of lawful revenue, President Trump signed an executive order, “Establishing Enhanced Collection and Enforcement of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties and Violations of Trade and Customs Laws,” on March 31. The order…

On April 29, 2017, President Trump signed an executive order creating the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy (OTMP) within the White House. Peter Navarro, who was previously named to head the White House’s National Trade Council which was never formally established, will lead the office.

OTMP’s stated mission is “to defend and serve American…

On April 29, 2017, his 100th day in office, President Trump announced an executive order directing the U.S. trade representative (USTR) and secretary of the Department of Commerce to commence a review of “all bilateral, plurilateral, and multilateral trade agreements and investment agreements to which the United States is a party” and “all trade relations…

With the Trump administration preparing to release its tax reform plan in the next several weeks, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) has just released a timely report on the border adjustment tax (BAT). The report offers an analysis of House Speaker Paul Ryan’s proposal of a destination-based cash flow tax (DBCFT), a type of national…