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G20 Summit Updates Include USMCA Signing, Section 301 Abatement

Dec 07, 2018

On November 30, 2018, and December 1, 2018, Leader of the Group of 20 (G20) attended the 2018 G20 Summit, held in Bueno Aires, Argentina.

(The G20 is a forum for international economic cooperation among its members, comprised of 19 countries and the European Union. The 19 countries are the United States, Canada, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.)

Accomplishments include the following:

USMCA:

  • The United States, Canada, and Mexico signed the USMCA Trade Agreement on November 30, 2018.
  • It will be called the USMCA in the U.S., the CUSMA in Canada, and the TMEC in Mexico.
  • It must now be ratified in each country’s legislature.
  • It will come into force three months after all three countries ratify it.

Not resolved were:

  • Section 232 for steel and aluminum regarding exemptions, or quota, but negotiations continue.

Section 301:

  • President Trump will leave the List 3 Section 301 tariffs on $200 billion worth of product at the 10% rate for 90 days, while negotiations continue. These were set to increase to 25% on January 1, 2019.

Note:  If an agreement is not reached, they will be raised to 25%.

  • The introduction of List 4 items was put on hold.
  • China agreed to purchase a substantial amount of agricultural, energy, industrial, and other products from the U.S. to reduce the trade imbalance between the U.S. and China.
  • President Trump and Chinese President Xi have agreed to immediately begin negotiations on structural changes with respect to forced technology transfer, intellectual property protection, non-tariff barriers, cyber intrusions and cyber theft, services and agriculture.
  • China agreed to designate Fentanyl as a Controlled Substance, making sellers of fentanyl to the U.S. subject to China’s maximum penalty under the law.
  • The U.S., China, and North Korea will work towards a nuclear free Korean Peninsula.
  • The U.S. and China agree to endeavor to have this completed within the next 90 days.

Other Trade Issues:

  • G20 Leaders recognized the importance of a multilateral approach to trade and the reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO), with a renewed commitment to a rules-based international order capable of effectively responding to a rapidly changing world.
  • Reaffirmed commitment to the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, a global blueprint for a fair globalization that leaves no one behind; and pledged to use all policy tools to achieve strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth.
  • WTO effectiveness will be on the agenda for the next G20 meeting, scheduled for June 2019 in Osaka, Japan.

If you have any questions regarding these G20 updates, Livingston can help!  Please contact either your Livingston account manager or our regulatory affairs department at usregaffairs@livingstonintl.com