| | | | |  | | By Ari Hawkins and Doug Palmer | | | — Commerce chief Gina Raimondo is in the Philippines on a trade and investment mission this week as the administration seeks to reestablish its relevance in the region amid scrutiny over stalled progress on the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. — The House will vote this week on a bill that would force TikTok to divest from its China-based owner ByteDance that’s drawn support from President Joe Biden and concern from likely Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. — Jason Smith and Adrian Smith are the latest House Republicans to express disappointment with the limited outcomes from the WTO’s ministerial conference late last month in the United Arab Emirates. It’s Monday, March 11. Welcome to Morning Trade. Which Oscar night snub surprised you the most? The lineup consisted of several movies the POLITICO trade team planned to see, but never quite got around to. Got some trade news to share? Reach us at: ahawkins@politico.com, gbade@politico.com and dpalmer@politico.com. You can also follow us on X: @_arihawkins, @gavinbade and @tradereporter.
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| | |  A meeting of members of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) ministerial meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco, on November 14, 2023. | Jason Henry/AFP via Getty Images | | RAIMONDO’S PHILIPPINE INVESTMENT PUSH: Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is in the Philippines today leading a diverse set of business executives on a presidential trade and investment mission aimed at deepening economic ties in areas such as tech innovation, connective infrastructure, clean energy, critical minerals and food security. President Joe Biden announced the trip in January, about nine months after he hosted Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. at the White House. Raimondo’s visit is part of a concerted Biden administration effort to rebuild ties with the former U.S. territory, which deteriorated under former President Rodrigo Duterte. The companies represented on the trip include Google, Black and Veatch, Visa, Capital One, Mastercard, United Airlines, UPS, FedEx and Microsoft, among others, underscoring the Biden administration’s focus on boosting private investment as a means of engagement rather than breaking down traditional barriers to free trade. Now, more than ever: Raimondo’s visit doubles as a chance for the White House to re-establish its presence in the region, which has become all the more important as the administration faces scrutiny over slow progress on the Biden-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework amid pushback from progressives. “In this politically charged environment, virtually no one in the world expects much progress on trade via IPEF in 2024,” Hinrich Foundation analysts Kurt Tong and Chuin Wei Yap wrote in an analysis over the weekend. “After what’s likely to be a bruising political year, it will be essential for Washington to get back to business in 2025 and show the sort of global economic leadership it is still capable of achieving,” they added. Supply chains and Germany too: Before leaving for the Philippines, Raimondo met virtually with members of the advisory committee on supply chain competitiveness for the first time since the group was rechartered in November, and tasked industry representatives to identify “choke points” affecting critical products that could weigh on trade and efforts to build out domestic manufacturing and infrastructure. The Commerce chief also held talks last week with German Vice Chancellor and Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck to discuss how to advance bilateral commercial relations and strengthen transatlantic ties. What’s next for IPEF? The Philippines visit comes as negotiators seek to find representatives to sit on the bodies that steer its Supply Chain Agreement for the framework’s “next phase,” per the Commerce Department's chief IPEF negotiator Sharon Yuan. Negotiations over the trade pillar are ongoing, according to a report from USTR, which does not provide a timeline for talks.
| | |  The House is planning to vote this week on a bill to crack down on TikTok after a committee on Thursday unanimously approved a measure forcing the Chinese company ByteDance to divest from the app within six months. | Michael Dwyer/AP | TIKTOK BILL MAKES STRANGE BEDFELLOWS: The House is planning to vote this week on a bill to crack down on TikTok after a committee on Thursday unanimously approved a measure that would force the Chinese company ByteDance to divest the app in a little less than six months. No partisan hacks: “If they pass it, I’ll sign it,” President Joe Biden told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland’s Prince George’s County, providing a push for the bill that still faces hurdles to passage in the Senate. Former President Donald Trump, for his part, raised concerns. "If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook ... will double their business," Trump said on Truth Social, adding he does not want Facebook “doing better.” (Some) Trump allies in line: Kellyanne Conway, the former senior Trump aide, is working for the conservative Club for Growth to advocate for the app, while failed GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy agreed with the former president’s comments. Catch-up: The chair of the House Select Committee on China, Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), and ranking member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) introduced the legislation last week. Gallagher argues the bill isn’t intended to ban the app, but to disconnect it from China’s influence by forcing Beijing-based owner ByteDance to sell it. The bill is awkward timing for Democrats and the White House coming weeks after Joe Biden’s election campaign announced it would officially join the short form video app that’s massively popular with Gen-Z. REPUBLICANS WEIGH IN ON WTO OUTCOMES: Jason Smith (R-Mo.), the chair of House Ways and Means, and Adrian Smith (R-Neb.), chair of the panel’s trade subcommittee, issued a joint statement Friday expressing disappointment with the limited outcomes from the WTO’s ministerial conference late last month in the United Arab Emirates. However, they also expressed relief that members renewed a 26-year-old moratorium on tariffs on digital trade and did not approve a waiver of intellectual property rights protections for Covid-19 treatments and testing materials. Going forward, they urged USTR to address concerns about unfair foreign agricultural practices and China’s beneficial status within the WTO as a “developing country.” They also pressed USTR to fix the WTO’s dispute settlement system so it can be used once again to challenge foreign trade practices that violate global trade rules. Tai loves the WTO: Hours after their statement, USTR released a transcript of the remarks Tai gave in Abu Dhabi during a Feb. 28 discussion on dispute settlement reform. (At the time, USTR told POLITICO a copy of her remarks was not available, but did provide a summary.) Amid concerns the U.S. is losing interest in the WTO, Tai said she wanted “to reiterate that I care deeply about this institution and the dispute settlement mechanism in particular. Although it developed problems over time, there is an opportunity for us now to continue to engage – with constructiveness and with collaboration – to create something new and better for all.”
| | | | TRADE OUTLOOK IMPROVES: The latest reading of the WTO’s Goods Trade Barometer indicates global merchandise trade could start to show modest gains in the first quarter of 2024 after a weak performance in 2023. However, geopolitical tensions continue to pose a downward risk to the near-term outlook, the WTO warned Friday. ITC OKs PAPER PLATE PROBE: The International Trade Commission voted 4-0 Friday to allow the Commerce Department to proceed with an investigation that could result in steep anti-dumping and countervailing duties on more than $100 million worth of paper plates from China and smaller amounts from Vietnam and Thailand. Commerce is expected to issue preliminary anti-dumping duty determinations by April 19 and preliminary countervailing duty determinations by July 3.
| | | | DON’T MISS AN IMPORTANT TALK ON ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE PRESCRIPTION DRUGS IN CA: Join POLITICO on March 19 to dive into the challenges of affordable prescription drugs accessibility across the state. While Washington continues to debate legislative action, POLITICO will explore the challenges unique to California, along with the potential pitfalls and solutions the CA Legislature must examine to address prescription drug affordability for its constituents. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | | | — INCOMING: Biden’s Office of Management and Budget is set to release his fiscal 2025 budget today, which includes proposals to invest in manufacturing, clean jobs and small businesses among various sectors. — The U.S. won’t give in to Mexico’s demands over genetically modified corn, Doug McKalip, chief agricultural negotiator at USTR, told Agri-Pulse’s Open Mic. — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán traveled to Florida on Friday to visit Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump, in a meeting blasted by President Joe Biden, POLITICO reports. — The Biden administration could sanction several Chinese tech companies, including leading memory-chip maker CXMT, Bloomberg reports. — Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell said China will complete a review into yearslong tariffs on Australian wine by the end of the month, per Reuters. THAT’S ALL FOR MORNING TRADE! See you again soon! In the meantime, drop the team a line: dpalmer@politico.com, gbade@politico.com and ahawkins@politico.com. Follow us @POLITICOPro and @Morning_Trade. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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