Industry News

Commerce Department, USTR Solicit Public Comment on Trade Deficit Omnibus Report

April 21, 2017


The Department of Commerce and the Office of the United States Trade Representative announced a public hearing and solicited public comment in an April 17th Federal Register notice. Information gathered will be used in the Omnibus Report on Significant Trade Deficits requested in an executive order issued at the end of March.

Commenters should submit information related to the following topics:

• Major causes of trade deficits with a given trading partner.
• Unequal burdens which may be indirectly or directly imposed upon domestic industry by trading partner
• Effects of a given trade relationship upon domestic production capacity, particularly as they pertain to the defense and manufacturing sectors.
• Effects of trade relationships upon wage growth and employment.
• Importation practices that may be detrimental to national security.
• Whether a given bilateral trade deficit is structural or cyclical rather than mercantilist-driven.
• The extent to which NME’s operating within market-based systems creating trade imbalances
• The extent to which governmental subsidies impact persistent industrial overcapacity
• Whether and how FTA’s impact bilateral trade deficits
• The extent to which weak enforcement and dispute resolution measures have exacerbated trade deficits

Both written comments and public hearing appearance requests must be submitted to the Commerce Department by May 10, 2017. Hearing requests must include summaries of the interested party’s testimony. The hearing is scheduled for Thursday, May 18, 2017 and will be held at the Department of Commerce.

For further information, please contact one of our legal professionals.