Page 24 - The South China Business Journal
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South China Business Journal
HIGHLIGHT G20Following the :
Trade as a (Re)work in
Progress
By Tami Overby, Senior Vice President, Asia, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Call it international trade?? (re)work in progress, the July G20 meeting produced:
Overcapacity
A united front on The joint statement issued following the Ham- The U.S. agreed to the trade language in the
overcapacity issues, burg summit talks of urgency in removing ??ar- statement, but hasn?? yet announced what ac-
with an emphasis on ket-distorting subsidies?? that foster overcapacity. tions, if any, it will take following its Section 232
steel ?? and some target The statement urges the OECD?? Global Forum steel and aluminum investigations. There also
deadlines for OECD has been substantial pushback from the interna-
recommendations on on Steel Excess Capacity ??o fulfill their com- tional community, with European Commission
??oncrete policy mitments?? on information sharing and co- President Jean-Claude Juncker warning that the
solutions that reduce operation by August 2017, proposing mea- European Union would move swiftly if the U.S.
steel excess capacity.?? sures by November ??s a basis for tangible imposes quotas or tariffs on European steel im-
and swift policy action,?? with ??ollow-up ports. ??e would react with countermeasures
progress reporting in 2018.?? within days,?? he said in Hamburg on July 7.
With a not-so-veiled reference to ongoing Sources said the U.S. held back the Section 232
U.S. probes of national security implica- Report on steel ahead of the summit in hopes of
tions to steel imports, German Chancellor producing a ??erious?? discussion on collective
Angela Merkel said the OECD group, created at bargaining of overcapacity issues.
least year?? G20 summit, provides ?? chance to
solve the steel overcapacity issues in a multilat-
eral way.?? She said ??therwise the likelihood of
bilateral measures will increase.??
Trump talking trade A flurry of
comments
Through tweets and sideline comments, before After a meeting with Indonesian President from President
and after meetings with other G20 leaders. Trump Joko Widodo, Trump said ??e will start Trump, advanc-
reinforced his commitment to one-on-one deal- doing a lot of trading with Indonesia. We ing his push for a
ings with scant mention of multilaterals. Ahead of do very little business, relatively, now. NAFTA redo and
a meeting with United Kingdom Prime Minister But we are going to do a lot of business.?? his preference for
Theresa May, he said ??e are working on a ... very, bilaterals, and
very big trade deal, a very powerful deal.?? The UK Trump also cited ??ood progress?? with renewing at-
can?? engage in trade talks until it formally exits Mexico on ??egotiating?? the North Amer- tacks on current
the EU, but Trump said ?? think we??l have that ican Free Trade Agreement redo, follow- arrangements.
done very, very quickly.?? ing a meeting with Mexican President En-
rique Peña Nieto. But on the same day (July
22
HIGHLIGHT G20Following the :
Trade as a (Re)work in
Progress
By Tami Overby, Senior Vice President, Asia, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Call it international trade?? (re)work in progress, the July G20 meeting produced:
Overcapacity
A united front on The joint statement issued following the Ham- The U.S. agreed to the trade language in the
overcapacity issues, burg summit talks of urgency in removing ??ar- statement, but hasn?? yet announced what ac-
with an emphasis on ket-distorting subsidies?? that foster overcapacity. tions, if any, it will take following its Section 232
steel ?? and some target The statement urges the OECD?? Global Forum steel and aluminum investigations. There also
deadlines for OECD has been substantial pushback from the interna-
recommendations on on Steel Excess Capacity ??o fulfill their com- tional community, with European Commission
??oncrete policy mitments?? on information sharing and co- President Jean-Claude Juncker warning that the
solutions that reduce operation by August 2017, proposing mea- European Union would move swiftly if the U.S.
steel excess capacity.?? sures by November ??s a basis for tangible imposes quotas or tariffs on European steel im-
and swift policy action,?? with ??ollow-up ports. ??e would react with countermeasures
progress reporting in 2018.?? within days,?? he said in Hamburg on July 7.
With a not-so-veiled reference to ongoing Sources said the U.S. held back the Section 232
U.S. probes of national security implica- Report on steel ahead of the summit in hopes of
tions to steel imports, German Chancellor producing a ??erious?? discussion on collective
Angela Merkel said the OECD group, created at bargaining of overcapacity issues.
least year?? G20 summit, provides ?? chance to
solve the steel overcapacity issues in a multilat-
eral way.?? She said ??therwise the likelihood of
bilateral measures will increase.??
Trump talking trade A flurry of
comments
Through tweets and sideline comments, before After a meeting with Indonesian President from President
and after meetings with other G20 leaders. Trump Joko Widodo, Trump said ??e will start Trump, advanc-
reinforced his commitment to one-on-one deal- doing a lot of trading with Indonesia. We ing his push for a
ings with scant mention of multilaterals. Ahead of do very little business, relatively, now. NAFTA redo and
a meeting with United Kingdom Prime Minister But we are going to do a lot of business.?? his preference for
Theresa May, he said ??e are working on a ... very, bilaterals, and
very big trade deal, a very powerful deal.?? The UK Trump also cited ??ood progress?? with renewing at-
can?? engage in trade talks until it formally exits Mexico on ??egotiating?? the North Amer- tacks on current
the EU, but Trump said ?? think we??l have that ican Free Trade Agreement redo, follow- arrangements.
done very, very quickly.?? ing a meeting with Mexican President En-
rique Peña Nieto. But on the same day (July
22
