Every week, the USTR website will explore a new trade topic, with background information and current trade data. On July 21 and 22, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk will be in Singapore at the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial meeting - so this week's trade topic is U.S. trade relations with APEC member economies.
May 29, 2026
WASHINGTON — Today, following identifying Vietnam as a Priority Foreign Country in the 2026 Special 301 Report, which was published on April 30, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer initiated an investigation of Vietnam under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.
May 29, 2026
MEXICO CITY — Today, the United States and Mexico concluded the first bilateral round related to the Joint Review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
The United States concluded discussions with the goals of reducing the trade deficit with Mexico and strengthening American supply chains. During this first round, negotiators discussed priority issues related to automotive rules of origin, steel and aluminum, and economic security.
May 29, 2026
WASHINGTON – Ambassador Jamieson Greer published an article in the June issue of the International Monetary Fund’s Finance & Development Magazine calling for the economics profession to revisit its assumptions and develop models that capture what matters to the real economy—including distributional consequences of trade, labor market dynamics, network and scale effects in manufacturing, effects of regulator
May 27, 2026
WASHINGTON — Today, the Office of the United States Trade Representative announced that the United States and Mexico will hold a series of bilateral negotiating rounds related to the first Joint Review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
May 19, 2026
WASHINGTON – Ambassador Jamieson Greer will host the G20 Trade Ministerial in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from Wednesday, September 30 to Thursday, October 1.
May 18, 2026
WASHINGTON – The Office of the United States Trade Representative has invoked the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM) in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to review whether workers at Faurecia Sistemas Automotrices de Mexico, S. de RL de C.V. (Faurecia), located in Silao, Guanajuato, Mexico, are being denied the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. The United States has suspended liquidation of unliquidated entries of goods from the Faurecia facility, which manufactures and commercializes auto parts.
May 18, 2026
WASHINGTON — Following the U.S.-China Summit in Beijing, Ambassador Greer hit the airwaves to discuss how President Trump is optimizing our economic relationship with China, securing historic deals and delivering greater market access for American farmers, ranchers, workers, and businesses.
On November 4, 2024, China requested consultations with the European Union with respect to the definitive countervailing duties imposed by the European Union on new battery electric vehicles from China, as well as the underlying investigation that led to the imposition of these duties.
China claimed that the challenged measures appear to be inconsistent with:
May 04, 2026
WASHINGTON – The Office of the United States Trade Representative will hold public hearings starting on May 5 and continuing through May 8, 2026, regarding the Section 301 investigations into 16 economies acts, policies, and practices relating to structural excess capacity and production in manufacturing sectors.
The hearings will take place in the main hearing room of the U.S. International Trade Commission, at 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC, starting at 10:00 am ET.
