[CTC] Key dates to remember for trade events in 2021

[Arthur Stamoulis]

Two articles with calendar items below…

Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826



Inside U.S. Trade
 
A new administration means a wide-open 2021 trade calendar
12/31/2020
The trade to-do list for the Biden administration and the 117th Congress is a long one: President-elect Biden, who will be sworn in on Jan. 20, will have to nominate a full slate of trade advisers and hope they are approved, while lawmakers are expected to weigh the looming expiration of Trade Promotion Authority and the end of two trade preference programs at the close of 2020.
Biden has announced his pick for U.S. Trade Representative -- House Ways and Means Democrats chief trade counsel Katherine Tai. But she must first be confirmed by the Senate, as do three of her deputies and a chief agriculture negotiator, before his trade team will be fully up and running. Two runoff Senate elections in Georgia in early January will decide who controls the body, which could have major implications for Biden’s agenda.
In addition to its role in evaluating Biden’s nominees, Congress will grapple with the expiration of the Generalized System of Preferences, as well as its failure to pass a new Miscellaneous Tariff Bill in 2020. Both GSP and the current MTB had Dec. 31 expiration dates. A broad swath of industry groups supports the renewal of GSP and a new MTB; Democrats, however, are demanding reforms to GSP and want to exclude some products from the next MTB.
Trade Promotion Authority is set to expire at the end of June. If the Biden administration at some point hopes to conclude trade deals -- something the president-elect has said is not an immediate priority -- Congress will have to rewrite the always-controversial trade legislation if any agreements are to be fast-tracked. Negotiations are well underway with the United Kingdom and Kenya.
On the international stage, the World Trade Organization enters 2021 without a leader, a functioning Appellate Body or clear direction on reforms. The Trump administration has blocked the consensus pick for WTO director-general, Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and has been blocking appointments to the Appellate Body since mid-2017, leaving the panel without any members.
The WTO could convene a General Council early in 2021 once it receives an indication from the Biden administration about whether it will support Okonjo-Iweala’s nomination. The WTO must also schedule its next ministerial, which has been hold due to the coronavirus pandemic. The meeting was initially slated for June 2020 and could take place late in 2021. At that meeting, negotiators are hoping to strike a deal to curb harmful fisheries subsidies after missing an end-of-year deadline in 2020.
Here is Inside U.S. Trade’s annual look at key dates and events for the new year.
January
·        Jan. 3: The 117th session of Congress is sworn in.
·        Jan. 5: Two runoff elections in Georgia could flip control of the Senate to the Democrats once Biden is sworn in, or could keep it in GOP hands.
·        Jan. 6: The end of a 180-day suspension period USTR imposed for tariffs on $1.3 billion worth of French goods. USTR put the tariffs, announced in response to France’s imposition of a digital services tax, on hold as France agreed to delay the collection of the tax while negotiators at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development worked to reach a deal on digital taxes by the end of 2020. The OECD deadline has been pushed to mid-2021, though, and France has begun billing U.S. companies <https://insidetrade.com/node/170069>. Accordingly, U.S. tariffs are set to be imposed in January.
·        Jan. 6, 8: India undergoes its trade policy review at the WTO.
·        Jan. 6: Post-hearing comments from USTR’s December hearing on its Section 301 investigation into Vietnamese timber practices are due.
·        Jan. 7: Post-hearing comments are due to USTR following its December hearing on its Section 301 investigation into Chinese currency practices.
·        Jan. 12: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce hosts its annual “State of American Business” event.
·        Jan. 12: The International Trade Commission holds a hearing on whether imported fresh, chilled or frozen blueberries are causing injury to the domestic industry. USTR in September asked the commission to conduct the investigation as part of its attempt to mollify U.S. growers of seasonal and perishable produce.
·        Jan. 14-15: The OECD will hold a public consultation session for its work on a new international tax structure that could supersede individual digital services taxes.
·        Jan. 20: Biden is inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States.
·        Jan. 25: The WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body holds its first regular meeting in 2021.
February
·        Feb. 8-9: The Washington International Trade Association holds its annual conference.
·        Feb. 11: The deadline for the ITC to issue its injury determination in its blueberries investigation.
·        Feb. 15: The one-year anniversary of the U.S.-China phase-one agreement. The agreement requires that the USTR and a Chinese vice premier meet every six months. The two sides held the first six-month check-in in August.
·        Feb 16: The ITC is scheduled to hold a hearing in its investigation into whether imports of Chinese twist ties are injuring the domestic industry as part of the Commerce Department’s trade remedy investigation. The Commerce investigation includes consideration of whether China’s currency is undervalued -- the second time the department has considered currency as a countervailable subsidy and the first time in a case with China.
·        Feb. 17: Commerce is scheduled to announce its final determination for countervailing duties on Chinese twist ties.
·        Feb. 18-19: The Agriculture Department hosts its annual “Agricultural Outlook Forum,” this time virtually.
March
·        March 2-3: The G20 holds is first trade and investment working group meeting in 2021.
·        March 5: China’s National People’s Congress will hold its fourth session in Beijing. China is expected to unveil its 14th five-year plan during the session.
·        March 9-12: Georgetown Law hosts its annual international trade update. Former USTR Charlene Barshefsky will give the keynote address.
·        March 16: Commerce is slated to announce its final determination in a countervailing-duty probe involving Vietnamese tires. Commerce preliminarily issued countervailing duties, a portion of which were attributed to an undervalued Vietnamese dong. The case marked the first time Commerce has treated an undervalued currency as countervailable subsidy.
·        March 23: The proposed date for an ITC vote on whether imports of Chinese twist ties are injuring the domestic industry.
·        March 27: The deadline for the director of National Intelligence to submit a report to Congress assessing whether China exploited pharmaceutical and information and communications technology supply chains during the coronavirus pandemic.
·        March 29: The deadline for the ITC to issue a report to the president with its findings from its investigation into whether imported blueberries are harming the domestic industry.
·        March 31: USTR is due to release its annual National Trade Estimate report on foreign trade barriers.
·        March 31: Section 301 tariff exclusions on some medical-care products, extended in late December due to COVID-19 concerns, are set to expire.
April
·        April 1: The deadline for the executive branch to submit trade deals to Congress under the 2015 Trade Promotion Authority law, which expires later in the year.
·        April 2: The ITC is scheduled to issue a determination on whether imports of Chinese twist ties are injuring the domestic industry.
·        April 15: The Treasury Department is due to issues a semiannual report on the currency practices of major trading partners. The last report, issued in December 2020, named Vietnam and Switzerland as currency manipulators.
·        April 27, 29: Vietnam undergoes its trade policy review at the WTO.
·        April 30: The ITC is slated to make its final injury determination on whether Vietnamese tire imports injure the domestic industry.
·        April 30: USTR is due to publish its annual Special 301 report on foreign intellectual property rights protections.
May
·        May 3-4: The G20 holds is second trade and investment working group meeting in 2021.
·        May 25-28: The World Economic Forum will take place in Singapore. Government and business leaders typically convene for the event in Davos, Switzerland, every January. The theme of this year’s “special” summit is recovering from the pandemic. A WTO mini-ministerial typically is held on the sidelines of the annual forum.
June
·        June 27: Two reports required by the fiscal year 2021 omnibus spending package are due to Congress. One requires that the director of National Intelligence assess partner countries’ export control regimes as well as the semiconductor supply chain. The other report that requires department and agency heads evaluate recommendations made in 2020 by the Cyberspace Solarium Commission on developing and implementing an information and communications technology industrial base strategy.
·        June 30: Trade Promotion Authority expires.
July
·        Early July: The State and Treasury secretaries are required to establish a Multilateral Semiconductors Security Fund within 180 days of the enactment of the fiscal year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, or report to Congress if they are unable to do so.
·        July 1: The one-year anniversary of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s entry-into-force. Most committees established under USMCA are required to have met once by this time.
·        July 14, 16: China undergoes its trade policy review at the WTO.
·        July 26-28: The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security will hold its annual conference on export controls.
August
·        Aug. 15: The 18-month anniversary of the U.S.-China phase-one deal, at which point the USTR and Chinese vice premier are supposed to meet to assess progress.
September
·        Sept. 30: Fiscal year 2020 ends. Congress and the White House must act by this date to extend government funding.
October
·        Oct. 4: The G20 is slated to hold a third trade and investment working group meeting.
·        Oct. 5: G20 trade ministers are scheduled to meet in Sorrento, Italy.
·        Oct. 13, 15: Korea undergoes its trade policy review at the WTO.
·        Oct. 15: The Treasury Department is due to issues a semiannual report on the currency practices of major trading partners.
·        Oct. 30-31: The G20 leaders summit is scheduled to be held in Rome.
November
·        Nov. 11: U.S. companies have until this date to divest from securities found to support the Chinese military, according to a November 2020 Trump executive order.
December
·        The World Trade Organization could hold its next ministerial this month -- its first since December 2017. WTO ministerials generally happen every two years, but the body’s 12th ministerial was initially slated for June 2020 before being further delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.
 
 
Politico Pro
 
Key dates to remember for trade events in 2021
By Doug Palmer 
01/05/2021
The coronavirus pandemic forced many international meetings to be canceled or go online in 2020, and it continues to cast its shadow over the trade and economic calendar in 2021.
Italy is still hoping world leaders will be able to flock to Rome for the annual G-20 summit on Oct. 30-31, but New Zealand is already planning a virtual meeting for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders during the week of Nov. 8.
The World Trade Organization could hold its 12th Ministerial Conference in Kazakhstan in June — or it may postpone until December.
Usually, a number of world leaders would travel to Washington to meet with Joe Biden after he takes office on Jan. 20. But how soon those visits will occur and when Biden will make his first trip overseas is unclear.
Here's a look at what the calendar holds in 2021:
Jan. 6: The United States is scheduled to impose a 25 percent tariff <https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/07/16/2020-15312/notice-of-action-in-the-section-301-investigation-of-frances-digital-services-tax> on $1.3 billion worth of French goods in a dispute over France’s new digital services taxes. USTR announced the tariffs in July <https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/07/16/2020-15312/notice-of-action-in-the-section-301-investigation-of-frances-digital-services-tax>, but suspended them for six months.
Jan. 6: Deadline for interested parties to make final comments in U.S. Trade Representative’s investigation into whether to impose tariffs on Vietnam for allegedly using illegally harvested lumber <https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/11/25/2020-26061/notice-of-public-hearing-in-section-301-investigation-of-vietnams-acts-policies-and-practices> in wood products exported to the United States.
Jan. 7: Deadline for interested parties to make final comments in USTR’s investigation into whether to impose tariffs on Vietnam because it has undervalued its currency <https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/11/25/2020-26063/notice-of-public-hearing-in-section-301-investigation-of-vietnams-acts-policies-and-practices> for an unfair trade advantage.
Jan. 12: The U.S. International Trade Commission holds a hearing as part of its investigation  <https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=ITC-2020-0385-0001>into whether blueberry imports from Canada, Mexico and other suppliers are harming the domestic industry.
Mid-January: The Senate could hold hearings on at least some of President-elect Joe Biden’s nominees for Cabinet positions.
Jan. 20: Biden takes office as the 46th president of the United States.
Jan. 25-29: World leaders, industry officials and public figures are expected to participate in a weeklong virtual event hosted by the World Economic Forum, traditionally held in Davos, Switzerland.
TBD: The Swiss government usually hosts a trade ministers meeting in late January in conjunction with the World Economic Forum. This year’s meeting, if there is one, is expected to be virtual.
Late January or February: The WTO General Council could hold a special session to select former Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the WTO's next director general, assuming the incoming Biden administration drops the objection lodged by the Trump administration.
TBD: WTO dispute settlement panels could issue rulings early this year in cases challenging Trump's decision to impose national security tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
February: Hearings and confirmation votes on Biden’s cabinet nominees, including USTR-designate Katherine Tai.
February: Biden will most likely make the first major speech of his presidency to a joint session of Congress. It will be an early sign on how prominently, or not, he will push trade issues during his first year in office.
February: Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has said he hopes to visit Washington for a meeting with Biden.
Feb. 11: Deadline for the International Trade Commission to determine whether the volume of blueberry imports warrants the United States imposing emergency restrictions.
Mid-February: Semi-annual deadline for USTR to announce any changes to current retaliation on $7.5 billion worth of EU goods in the Airbus-Boeing aircraft subsidy dispute.
Feb. 28: Deadline for USTR to release its annual report on the president’s trade agenda. This would be the first such report of Biden’s presidency. The most important elements are often known ahead of time.
TBD: The Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees usually hold hearings with the U.S. trade representative after the release of the president's trade agenda report. Last year’s hearings did not take place until June.
TBD: NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has invited <https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-30/biden-invited-to-nato-summit-early-next-year-stoltenberg-says> Biden to a leaders’ summit in early 2021.
TBD: European Union leaders want to host Biden for a transatlantic summit early in his first year in office.
TBD: Biden has pledged to hold a “Summit for Democracy” before the end of the year, but has not announced a date for the meetings.
TBD: China and leaders from Central and Eastern Europe are expected to hold their annual summit in the first half of 2021.
March 24-27: The Boao Forum for Asia, <http://english.boaoforum.org/en/index.html> sometimes called "Asia's Davos," is scheduled to hold its annual conference on the Chinese resort island of Hainan.
March 31: USTR releases its annual National Trade Estimate report on foreign trade barriers.
April 1: Deadline for White House to notify Congress of its intention to sign a free trade agreement with the United Kingdom or any other country before the 2015 Trade Promotion Authority law expires on July 1. Agreements signed after July will not receive TPA protections that speed congressional approval of trade deals.
April 9-11: The International Monetary Fund and World Bank are scheduled to hold their spring meetings in Washington.
April 15: Deadline for the U.S. Treasury Department to release its annual report on foreign exchange rate policies. The report is often delayed. The Trump administration formally labeled Vietnam and Switzerland as currency manipulators in its last report before leaving office.
April 30: Deadline for USTR to release its annual report on how well other countries protect U.S. intellectual property rights.
May: The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris usually hosts a meeting this month of top trade officials from member countries.
May: The annual Central China Investment and Trade Expo is expected to be held. The Chinese vice premier and senior officials from the Ministry of Commerce usually attend.
May. 18-21: The World Economic Forum is scheduled to hold its annual meeting <https://www.weforum.org/press/2020/10/annual-meeting-2021-to-take-place-in-lucerne-burgenstock/> in Lucerne-Bürgenstock, Switzerland.
June 5: Trade officials from the U.S., China and other members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum will hold a virtual meeting  <https://www.apec.org/Events-Calendar>hosted by New Zealand.
June 7-11: The Commerce Department is scheduled to hold its annual SelectUSA Investment conference, which attracts delegations from around the world and usually includes high-profile speakers from government and business.
TBD: The United Kingdom will host the G-7 summit of leading Western economies this summer. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has invited Australia, India and South Korea to attend in addition to the current members: Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States and the EU. The 2020 summit was canceled because of the coronavirus.
June (tentative): Kazakhstan has renewed its offer to host the World Trade Organization’s 12th Ministerial Conference, after being forced to cancel the event in 2020 because of the pandemic. However, WTO members could decide to wait until December to hold the meeting because of pandemic concerns.
July 1: U.S. trade promotion authority expires. Any U.S. trade agreement signed after this date will not have the protections that facilitate approval of the agreement by Congress.
July 8-9: G20 economy and finance ministers are scheduled to meet <https://www.g20.org/en/index.html> in Venice, Italy.
July: Leaders of the BRICS group of nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — are expected to hold their annual summit.
July: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is expected to hold its annual summit. Members include China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Early August: The annual meeting of officials from the United States and countries that receive trade benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act usually occurs in early August. There was no meeting in 2020 because of the pandemic.
Mid-August: Semi-annual deadline for USTR to announce any changes to its current retaliation on $7.5 billion worth of EU goods in the Airbus-Boeing aircraft subsidy dispute.
Sept. 8-11: The annual China International Fair for Investment and Trade <https://www.cantonfair.net/event/1530-china-international-fair-for-investment-trade-cifit> is scheduled to take place in Xiamen.
Sept. 14-30: World leaders could gather in New York for the annual United Nations General Assembly and related events if conditions permit.
Sept. 19-20: G-20 agriculture ministers are scheduled to meet  <https://www.g20.org/en/index.html>in Florence, Italy.
Oct. 5: G-20 trade ministers are scheduled to meet <https://www.g20.org/en/index.html> in Sorrento, Italy.
Oct. 15: Semi-annual deadline for the U.S. Treasury Department's report to Congress on foreign exchange rate policies.
Oct. 15-17: The International Monetary Fund and World Bank hold their fall meetings in Marrakesh, Morocco.
Oct. 30-31: G-20 leaders are scheduled to meet in Rome. <https://www.g20.org/en/vertice-di-roma.html>
Nov. 1-12: The U.K. and Italy are scheduled to co-host the COP26 UN climate conference <https://ukcop26.org/> in Glasgow, Scotland. The meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was originally scheduled for Nov. 9-19, 2020.
Week of Nov. 8: Leaders from the U.S., China and other members of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum will hold a virtual summit meeting  <https://www.apec2021nz.org/>hosted by New Zealand.
Nov. 5-10: The Chinese Ministry of Commerce co-hosts the China International Import Expo <https://www.ciie.org/zbh/en/>, which is held every year in Shanghai.
November: Brunei is this year's host for the annual East Asia Summit, which includes the 10 ASEAN countries <https://asean.org/> as well as Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States. It is usually held in November, following the APEC leaders meeting.
December: The WTO could hold its 12th Ministerial Conference in December, if it appears too risky to hold it in June. The WTO usually holds its major decision-making conference every two years, but this would be the first meeting since December 2017.
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