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3.125. Following United States International Trade Commission's (USITC) mid term monitoring report, the President determined in a proclamation in October 2020 to revoke the exclusion previously granted for bifacial panels, and to adjust the duty rate of the safeguard tariff for the fourth year of the measure from 15% to 18% (Table 3.20). [174] This proclamation was subsequently invalidated by the U.S. CIT on 16 November 2021. As a result of the court's decision is bifacial products became excluded from the measure, and the applicable duty rate in the fourth year went back to 15% instead of 18%. [...]
[174] Presidential Proclamation 10101 of 10 October 2020, To Further Facilitate Positive Adjustment to Competition from Imports of Certain Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells (Whether or Not Partially or Fully Assembled Into Other Products). Federal Register (2020), Vol. 85, No. 201, 6 October, pp. 65639. Viewed at: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-10-16/pdf/FR-2020-10-16.pdf.

3.126. In August 2021, at the petition of the domestic industry, United States International Trade Commission's (USITC) initiated a proceeding to determine whether the measure on CSPV products continues to be necessary. In December 2021, USITC transmitted its report to the President regarding extension relief. On 4 February 2022, the President issued a proclamation extending the safeguard measure on CSPV products. The extension, to be in effect for four years, became effective on 7 February 2022, and took the form of: (i) continuation of the TRQ on imports of solar cells not partially or fully assembled into other products, with in-quota quantities increasing from 2.5 to 5 GW per year; (ii) a duty rate of 14.75% ad valorem on imports of out of quota CSPV cells and of modules, with annual reductions in the rates of duty in the sixth, seventh, and eighth years (up to 1%); and (iii) the exclusion of bifacial panels from the extension of the measure. The extension was notified to the WTO (Table 3.20).

3.127. On 14 August 2018, China requested consultations with the United States concerning the definitive safeguard measure imposed by the United States on imports of certain CSPV products. The DSB established a panel on 15 August 2019. On 2 September 2021, the Panel Report was circulated to Members. The Panel found that China had not established that the safeguard measure on CSPV products failed to comply with the requirement in Article XIX:1(a) of the GATT 1994 that imports increased "as a result of unforeseen developments and of the effect of the obligations incurred" , and had not established that the United States acted inconsistently with the Agreement on Safeguards by failing to demonstrate the required "causal link" between the increased imports and the serious injury found to exist. The Panel made no recommendation to the DSB pursuant to Article 19.1 of the DSU. On 16 September 2021, China notified the DSB of its decision to appeal certain issues of law and legal interpretations in the report.

3.141. On 31 October 2021, the United States and the European Union issued a joint statement with respect to the steel and aluminum tariffs. In the statement, both parties express their joint desire to address non-market excess capacity so as to preserve their critical steel and aluminum industries, and agree to ongoing cooperation, and promote arrangements to address global non market excess capacity as well as the carbon intensity of the industries. They also agreed to terminate their DSB disputes. (...), as part of the arrangement, the United States and the European Union intend to negotiate for the first time, a global arrangement to address carbon intensity and global overcapacity. As a result of the arrangement, the United States will allow historically based volumes of EU steel and aluminum products to enter the United States without Section 232 duties and the European Union will suspend related tariffs on U.S. products. To implement the arrangement, the United States and the European Union will create a technical working group charged with developing a common methodology and share relevant data for assessing the embedded emissions of traded steel and aluminum. The global arrangement will be open to any interested country that shares the commitment to achieving the goals of restoring market orientation and reducing trade in carbon intensive steel and aluminum products [219].
[219] European Commission (2021), "Joint EU-US Statement on a Global Arrangement on Sustainable Steel and Aluminium", 31 October. Viewed at: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_21_5724; and USTR (2021), "Joint US-EU Statement on Trade in Steel and Aluminum" 31 October. Viewed at: https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/press-releases/2021/october/joint-us-eu-statement-trade-steel-and-aluminum.

Box 3.2 U.S. EU joint statement on steel and aluminum, 31 October 2021
On 31 October 2021, the United States and the European Union issued a joint statement with respect to the steel and aluminum tariffs with the main following points:
(...)
2). Global steel and aluminum arrangements to restore market-oriented conditions and address carbon intensity
- The United States and the European Union are resolved to negotiate future arrangements for trade in steel and aluminum to reduce market excess capacity as well as the carbon intensity of the industries.
- The United States and the European Union will invite like-minded economies to participate in the arrangements and contribute to achieving the goals of restoring market-oriented conditions and supporting the reduction of carbon intensity of steel and aluminum across modes of production.
(...)
- Compatible with international obligations and the multilateral rules, each participant in the arrangements would undertake the following actions:
(...)(ii) restrict market access for non-participants that do not meet standards for low carbon intensity;
(iii) ensure that domestic policies support the objectives of the arrangements and support lowering carbon intensity across all modes of production;
(iv) refrain from non-market practices that contribute to carbon intensive, non-market-oriented capacity;
(v) consult on government investment in decarbonization; and
(...)- To enhance their cooperation and facilitate negotiations on a global sustainable steel and aluminum arrangements, the United States and the European Union agree to form a technical working group that will, inter alia, confer on methodologies for calculating steel and aluminum carbon intensity and share data.

3.177. On 2 October 2020, the USTR initiated a Section 301 investigation to examine whether Viet Nam's acts, policies, and practices related to the import and use of illegal timber are unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict U.S. commerce. In its initiation notice, the USTR indicated that the investigation would initially focus on the following issues: (i) Vietnamese imports of illegal timber may be inconsistent with Viet Nam's domestic laws, the laws of exporting countries, or international rules; for species listed under the CITES imported from Cambodia or the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Vietnamese authorities are not requiring the permits or certificates that should be needed to enter or re-export from Viet Nam; (...)

Table 3.23 Items subject to export controls, including licensing
Product category - Fish and wildlife controls; endangered species
Responsible agencies - Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Legal reference - 50 C.F.R. 17.21, 17.22, 17.31, 17.32

Table 3.23 Items subject to export controls, including licensing
Product category - Hazardous waste
Responsible agencies - Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery
Legal reference - 40 C.F.R. Part 262, subpart E; 263.20; 263.22(d)

3.197. The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) was created in 1992 as an independent agency to advance economic development and U.S. commercial interests in developing and middle income countries. The agency funds grant-based project preparation and partnership building activities that develop sustainable infrastructure and foster economic growth in partner countries. USTDA places particular emphasis on vital economic sectors where U.S. companies are competitive, including clean energy, information and communications technology, transportation, healthcare infrastructure, and agri-business. In FY2021, USTDA identified more than USD 2.3 billion in U.S. exports to emerging economies as a result of programming that facilitated quality infrastructure development.

3.205. Export-Import Bank (EXIM) operates under Congressional mandates in accordance with its Charter. There are currently four such mandates addressing small businesses, Sub-Saharan Africa, environmentally beneficial goods and services, and China and transformational exports. (...)