White House Announces Action Items To Strengthen U.S. Manufacturing
Lauren M. Donoghue

On October 27, President Obama unveiled new executive actions aimed at strengthening U.S. manufacturing. The actions were announced at a meeting of the American Manufacturing Partnership (AMP) Steering Committee, a working group of 19 business and industry leaders created by President Obama in 2011. The AMP presented its final report, which laid out recommendations for accelerating U.S. advanced manufacturing, and the policy solutions prescribed by the President respond to those recommendations. The executive actions include more than $300 million for NASA and the departments of Defense, Energy and Agriculture to invest in emerging technologies that the AMP identified as crucial to U.S. competitiveness: advanced materials, including composites and bio-based materials; advanced sensors for manufacturing; and digital manufacturing. The White House announcement is available here.

WTO Finds United States Has Not Complied With Country Of Origin Labeling Decision
Cole Pfeiffer & P. Lee Smith

A World Trade Organization (WTO) compliance panel ruled on October 20 that the United States has not yet complied with a 2012 WTO finding that U.S. country-of-origin labeling (COOL) requirements for meat products violate the United States' WTO obligations. COOL regulations require retail packaging to disclose where animals used in meat products are born, raised, and slaughtered. Canada and Mexico claim that these regulations give domestic companies an unfair advantage over their own importers.

Currently, there is a debate within the United States over whether Congressional action is required to comply with the WTO ruling. COOL opponents, including numerous multi-national corporations and U.S. trade associations, fear retaliation if either Canada or Mexico decides to subject certain U.S. exports to retaliatory tariffs. Opponents are pressing Congress to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to rescind elements of COOL determined to be in violation of the United States' WTO obligations. Proponents, including rancher groups and food safety advocates, counter that calls to repeal COOL are premature. They propose that Congress should wait for the conclusion of the United States' appeal, which was filed on November 28, before taking action. They argue that since imports of beef from the complaining countries have actually increased, Canada and Mexico's complaints are unfounded.

United States To End Suspension Agreement On Steel From Russia

On October 17, the United States Department of Commerce informed the Russian Federation's Ministry of Economic Development that the United States would terminate the suspension agreement on hot-rolled, flat-rolled, carbon quality steel from Russia within 60 days. The agreement was created to prevent dumping and encourage fair trade between Russia and the United States by setting a cap on the amount of hot-rolled steel that could be imported into the United States from Russia and establishing a minimum price for those imports in lieu of imposing antidumping duties. The parties originally signed the agreement on July 12, 1999; it was then updated in 2012. However, in July 2012, several U.S. steel producers requested that Commerce "scrap the deal" because "the agreement had not prevented price undercutting by Russian imports since at least 2004."

The termination of the suspension agreement will take effect on December 16, 2014. Once the suspension agreement is terminated, the antidumping duties from the original investigation conducted in 1999 will take effect immediately. The Russian steelmakers are expected to have dumping margins from 73.59 to 184.56 percent on imports of hot-rolled, flat-rolled steel, based on dumping margins confirmed in the second sunset review of the antidumping duty order. The American Iron and Steel Institute welcomes the decision, stating that "our industry should not have to endure injury from surging imports of Russian hot-rolled steel that are coming into this country under a deal that no longer serves its intended purpose."

Manufacturing Investment Goals Emerge at India-U.S. Trade Policy Forum
Elizabeth Owerbach

On November 25, U.S. and Indian trade leaders met in Delhi, India for the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum. The Forum was the first since 2010 and focused on bilateral trade and investment issues in the areas of intellectual property, manufacturing, agriculture, and services.

According to a joint statement from Minister of Commerce and Industry of India Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman and U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Michael Froman, both sides expressed their willingness "to enhance bilateral trade and investment ties." On the manufacturing front, both countries agreed that establishing a "transparent and predictable policy environment" is key to deepening investment in manufacturing. Both leaders agreed to share best practices, information on stakeholder participation in trade policy, and information on standards and conformity assessments with one another. Future goals include establishing a "single window" clearance system, increasing supply chain connectivity, and enhancing mutual understanding of "procedures for testing, packaging, and labeling requirements."

Leading up to the forum, King & Spalding hosted an interactive discussion with the U.S. Trade Representative's Office (USTR) on November 12. This provided an opportunity for USTR to brief industry stakeholders on their goals for the Forum, and for interested parties to voice their questions and concerns.

Survey Finds Increasing Interest From U.S. Manufacturers In "Reshoring"
Szymon Maziakowski & Pat Togni

Jimmy Buffett famously sang "my occupational hazard is my occupation's just not around." In recent decades, that line sounded all too familiar to many Americans losing jobs in the manufacturing sector.

As we reported last year, however, "reshoring" of manufacturing operations continues to rise. In fact, a recent Boston Consulting Group report indicates a 20 percent rise in "reshoring" of manufacturing operations from China in the past year. The Made in America, Again: Third Annual Survey of U.S.-Based Manufacturing Executives report also indicates that nearly 25 percent of U.S.-based executives at large companies would consider returning production to the United States in the near future. Factors that drive "reshoring" decisions include access to skilled workforce and talent and increasing local control over the manufacturing process.