A half-dozen countries that negotiated the Trans-Pacific Partnership -- including two that never ratified it -- and Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and India agreed to start negotiating agreements with the United States on trade, supply chains, digital standards, anti-corruption, and tax and investment from the U.S. for decarbonization and infrastructure.

The Court of International Trade ruled in a May 20 opinion that sales from a Canadian warehouse to U.S. customers are "sales for export to the U.S." rather than "domestic sales," in a May 20 slip opinion by Judge Jennifer Choe-Groves. The opinion granted a Nov. 19 motion for summary judgment by DOJ (see 2111220057) that argued plaintiff Midwest-CBK's sales were exports to the U.S. at the time of sale (Midwest-CBK, LLC v. United States, CIT Consol. #17-00154).

Foam footwear previously barred from entry due to an exclusion order from the International Trade Commission may enter the U.S. following a reexamination by CBP, even though the issue wasn't protestable, CBP said in ruling H323683, released May 16. The ruling was sparked by a Jan. 31 protest by Triple T Trading, which argued its imports of foam footwear should not have been barred from entry.

The top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee said he's hoping to have a conversation with Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., and Senate Finance Committee leaders about pairing trade agreement negotiations and renewing Trade Adjustment Assistance -- but Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, said he won't support TAA in the China bill without "real substantive commitments" from the administration that it intends to negotiate for market access abroad.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said during a press conference in Brussels that there's a variety of opinions in the administration about what to do on tariffs, and officials haven't been able to agree on how to proceed. "I've said previously that I think that some of the tariffs that were imposed by President Trump in retaliation for China's unfair trade practices, some of them, to me, seem as though they impose more harm on consumers and businesses and aren't very strategic in the sense of addressing real issues we have with China, whether it concerns supply chain vulnerabilities, national security issues, or other unfair trade practices," she said.

The Federal Maritime Commission should require all ocean carriers and marine terminals to hire dedicated compliance officers, establish a clearer process for returning containers and launch a new investigation into carrier charges assessed through tariffs, Commissioner Rebecca Dye said. Dye, delivering a new set of recommendations during a May 18 FMC meeting, also said the commission should create a carrier-focused advisory committee and do more to support U.S. agricultural exports.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai asked Mexico to review whether workers at the Panasonic Automotive Systems de Mexico facility in Reynosa are being denied the rights of free association and collective bargaining. By doing so, USTR is endorsing an April 18 request from Rethink Trade and a Mexican union that was, at the time, trying to win a union vote at the factory (see 2204190031). The two groups' complaint said that Panasonic fired more than 60 workers who supported the independent union, and that the captive union, Confederación de Trabajadores de México (CTM), was offering bribes to workers to get their votes. They also said that Panasonic signed a contract with CTM before the vote, and started withholding union dues almost a month before the vote.

To address infant formula shortages caused by the closure of a major U.S. plant in February, FDA issued a guidance document May 16 detailing a new policy of enforcement discretion that will allow some imports of infant formula that don’t meet all regulatory requirements. The policy will remain in effect until Nov. 14, unless extended.

International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.

Imported house wrap, used during construction to protect the properties from water infiltration, should be properly classified as “Woven fabrics of synthetic filament yarn...” under the duty-free heading 5407 rather than as "Textile fabrics impregnated, coated, covered or laminated with plastics" under heading 5903, CBP said in a March 8 ruling.