Trade

WASHINGTON — Katherine Tai, chief trade counsel for the House Ways and Means Committee, is reported to be President-elect Joe Biden's nominee to be America's trade negotiator. Tai would lead the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, an agency she knows well from her committee work... Read More

China and 14 other countries agreed Sunday to set up the world’s largest trading bloc, encompassing nearly a third of all economic activity, in a deal many in Asia are hoping will help hasten a recovery from the shocks of... Read More

WASHINGTON - It wasn't unexpected. Counterfeits and knockoffs are all around us, from sneakers to handbags and even cures for the common cold. But a surge in demand for personal protection equipment, not to mention tobacco, alcohol and cleaning products,... Read More

WASHINGTON - As if a global health crisis wasn't enough to have on their plate, wine sellers are bracing for the imposition of another round of tariffs that could raise the price of imported European wines and other products by... Read More

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Senate tried to figure out a response Wednesday to a trade war with China that is taking on new urgency during the coronavirus pandemic. Republican and Democratic senators identified Chinese computer hackers and patent thieves as... Read More

WASHINGTON - It's NAFTA no more. As of 12:01 this morning, the U.S. - Mexico - Canada trade agreement, better known as the USMCA, is in full effect, formally replacing the 26-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement "Today marks the... Read More

Trade agreement talks between the United States and the United Kingdom have been tabled for the foreseeable future over a disagreement concerning agricultural practices. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer revealed the impasse during testimony before the House Ways and Means... Read More

WASHINGTON - Representatives of the U.S. maritime industry asked Congress for an emergency bailout Friday as they described how coronavirus is hurting ports and shippers. They are expecting their revenue to drop by as much as one-quarter below normal levels... Read More

WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Wednesday that he's informed Congress the State Department no longer considers Hong Kong to have significant autonomy under Chinese rule, a move seen as foreshadowing the end of some or all of... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced on Thursday that it had finalized new rules to give truckers more flexibility on their driving hours. The announcement comes after two years of intense public debate over how to give... Read More

China’s ambassador to the U.S. said his country is still implementing the first phase of a trade agreement signed with the U.S. earlier this year and called for both nations to assess the changing situation as the coronavirus presents global... Read More

WASHINGTON - Despite the continued uncertainties related to the COVID-19 virus, government officials trying to beat back the pandemic need to resist the temptation to erect new barriers to trade, an international trade watchdog said Friday. Further, the report said,... Read More

WASHINGTON - In a case with implications to both maritime transportation and international trade, the Supreme Court ruled a firm that contracted for a delivery of oil was obligated to provide “safe berth” for the vessel carrying it. The underlying... Read More

WASHINGTON - Although it barely caused a ripple given the understandable focus on the worldwide coronavirus outbreak, a historic new chapter in North American commerce began two weeks ago Friday, when Canada became the third and final country to ratify... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Canada-U.S. border will close to all non-essential travel in both directions Friday night, and officials are set to impose similar restrictions at the U.S. border with Mexico later today. It was only two months ago President Donald... Read More

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump signed the new North American trade deal into law on Wednesday, declaring an end to "the NAFTA nightmare" and the beginning of a "glorious future." During an outdoor signing ceremony at the White House, Trump... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Senate handed President Donald Trump a policy victory on Thursday, backing USMCA, the new North American trade deal, the same day the chamber turned its attention to the president's impeachment trial. Once it's signed by Trump, USMCA... Read More

WASHINGTON — After nearly two years of a bruising trade war, President Donald Trump signed a trade deal with China on Wednesday that provides the president with political bragging rights but allows both sides to put off the most difficult... Read More

WASHINGTON — Sen. Jeff Merkley faced a difficult vote Tuesday as he joined colleagues on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to advance the bill that would implement President Donald Trump’s new trade deal. The Oregon Democrat said the... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday gave its approval to the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, moving it a step closer to ratification. The 25-3 vote by the committee sent the trade deal, also known simply as USMCA, to... Read More

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump says he will sign the first phase of a trade deal with China at the White House next month. Trump says Tuesday in a tweet that he'll then travel to Beijing... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s top trade negotiator and senior Democrats have declared that with House passage of a rewrite of Nafta, they’ve found a formula for Republicans and Democrats to forge trade deals despite Washington’s deep partisan divide. The... Read More

WASHINGTON - In a strong show of bipartisan cooperation just hours after they were at each other's throats over the impeachment of President Donald Trump, Democrats and Republicans threw their support behind a new trade agreement with Canada and Mexico.... Read More

WASHINGTON — No date has been set so far for the U.S. and China to kick off “phase two” trade talks, said U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, contradicting a suggestion by President Donald Trump that negotiations would start right away.... Read More

WASHINGTON — In the span of one hour Tuesday, House Democrats moved to impeach President Donald Trump for abusing his office and simultaneously delivered his biggest legislative win of the year by agreeing to a long-stalled trade deal — a... Read More

WASHINGTON — Trade experts told a congressional panel led by Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., on Tuesday that the U.S. businesses and manufacturers will suffer if the decades-old rules-based trading system is allowed to fall by the wayside as the Trump... Read More

WASHINGTON — Long after some thought an agreement between the House and the Trump administration on a new North American trade pact would require a miracle, a deal was finally announced on the same day the House unveiled impeachment charges... Read More

WASHINGTON - In a divisive political era, Rep. Scott Peters, a California Democrat, still manages to find a way to reach across the aisle to get things done. Whether it’s introducing legislation to make cost-effective biosimilar drugs more accessible, leading... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump secured approval for his U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement from a key U.S. labor leader, according to three Trump administration officials, clearing one of the final hurdles for the deal to get a vote in Congress as... Read More

WASHINGTON — House Democrats have reportedly reached a tentative agreement with labor leaders and the White House over a rewrite of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal, otherwise known as USMCA. News of the deal was initially reported by The Washington Post,... Read More