Tariff Times Daily: Trump Prepares for Engagement with Xi Jinping
The President continues to protect American labor and industry, even while China, the ITC, and Democrats fight against him.
THE BOTTOM LINE
With President Trump set to visit Beijing in a high stakes meeting with Xi Jinping later this week, all Protectionist are looking to what will happen with USTR ambassador Greers “Board of Trade” idea. Particularly since President Trump is well aware that China abandoned its commitments in the Phase One deal from the first admin, and is ongoing investigations are revealing the extent of Chinese egregious trade violations, it seems likely the President will embrace a stern stance. If we have learned anything so far in this admin, it is to trust Trump. On every metric, the President has won even with his back up against the wall. While a patient tone is necessary, as the United States must ramp up its own critical mineral production before completely severing the cord between ourselves and China, it is critical that too many concessions to China are not given, particularly in the field of national security and AI . While the ITC has ruled against President Trumps universe 10% tariffs, the ruling is not yet actionable, and the April jobs report is showing 12,600 factory construction jobs added in a single month, signaling that the Presidents agenda is delivering.
TODAY’S STORIES
White House Previews “Board of Trade” Ahead of Trump-Xi Meeting
In a May 10 background call with reporters, the White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary outlined a “forward-leaning” announcement on a U.S.-China “Board of Trade” mechanism that could cover tens of billions of dollars in traded goods, with the deliverable expected when President Trump meets President Xi Jinping in China this week. This could be a mechanism by which the United States can manage a taper off imports from China, while building its own domestic capabilities. But it remains to be seen whether the Chinese would agree to this, and whether or not it is a sincere gesture from the President, or a leverage tool. The Presidents with Xi will allegedly cover a broad swath of important topics, including AI, Taiwan, and Iran. It’s unclear how those issues will effect the conversation on trade and any potential “board of trade” arrangement.
Source: Inside Trade
April Jobs Report: 12,600 Factory Construction Jobs Added in a Single Month
The White House said the April employment report showed 12,600 factory construction jobs added in the month, attributing the gain to “trillions in investments continue pouring into American manufacturing.” Factory construction is the leading indicator of industrial capacity in formation, the buildings and groundbreakings that will host the next decade of U.S. production. The April number continues the pattern set since the second-term tariff posture took effect. While part of these jobs are related to the AI buildout, the investment taking place in this field is fostering downstream growth in different sectors.
Source: White House
House Ways and Means Hears Testimony on Special Tax Treatment for Domestic Copper, Scrap Export Restrictions
Witnesses before the House Ways and Means Committee recommended that domestic copper production receive special tax treatment and that scrap copper exports be considered for restriction, two policy levers aimed at keeping the metal that powers grid, semiconductor, and defense production inside U.S. industrial supply chains. The Coalition for a Prosperous America, which covered the hearing, framed it as a structural moment for upstream metals policy.
Source: Coalition for a Prosperous America (allied)
BLM Returns 1.4 Million Acres to Alaska, Clearing Path to Ambler Mining District
The Bureau of Land Management completed a transfer of 1.4 million acres of federal land back to Alaska along the Dalton Utility Corridor, with the Interior Department noting that the corridor encompasses “some of Alaska’s most critical transportation and energy assets” and that the transfer is expected to advance critical mineral production in the Ambler Mining District. American mineral sovereignty in the critical-minerals tier requires American land available for production; this transfer is the precondition.
Source: Inside Trade
FEDERAL REGISTER WATCH
Notice — ITC: Final affirmative determination of a Section 337 violation involving photodynamic therapy systems and oil vaporizing devices, with a limited exclusion order and cease-and-desist orders issued against the named respondents. Trade-remedy enforcement is being applied as intended where infringing imports are proven. Read notice
Notice — Commerce: Final results of the antidumping administrative review on cut-to-length carbon-quality steel plate from the Republic of Korea, with Commerce finding sales at less than normal value during the February 2024 to January 2025 period. Above-zero margins continue on Korean steel plate, useful precedent for domestic producers tracking Korean pricing. Read notice
Notice — Commerce: Preliminary results of the countervailing duty administrative review on wood mouldings and millwork products from China, with Commerce preliminarily finding countervailable subsidies for the 2024 period of review. Another data point on the structural use of state subsidy in Chinese downstream wood products. Read notice
ON THE DOCKET
AGOA modernization closes Friday is the marquee deadline; the softwood lumber subsidy comments and the five-country steel-nails sunset reviews stack up behind it.
May 15 (closes in 4 days) — USTR: Modernization of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Congressional reauthorization is coming, and domestic textile, apparel, and downstream producers should weigh in on whether the post-2026 structure preserves or unwinds duty-free access. Read notice
May 26 (closes in 15 days) — Commerce: Annual softwood-lumber subsidy comment cycle covering July through December 2025. The standing evidence file for the U.S. softwood-lumber subsidy case; U.S. Lumber Coalition members and domestic mills should submit. Read notice
Jun 1 (closes in 21 days) — ITC: Five-year sunset reviews of the AD orders on steel nails from Malaysia, Oman, South Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam, plus the CVD order on Vietnam. Sunset reviews decide whether the orders remain in force; domestic nail producers must file to preserve protection. Read notice
ON THE HILL
HEARINGS & MARKUPS
No House Ways and Means or Senate Finance trade hearings or markups are on the public schedule for the next 14 days.
BILLS TO WATCH
S 4393 — Build America, Buy America Compliance Act: Tightens compliance with the Build America Buy America domestic-content rules attached to federal infrastructure spending. Direct support for American manufacturers in the federal procurement pipeline. Referred to Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. View bill
HR 8649 — Expanding the Defense Industrial Base Sales Act: Broadens authorized sales channels supporting the U.S. defense industrial base. Helps amortize the cost of strategically important domestic production capacity by widening its customer base. Referred to House Foreign Affairs. View bill
HR 8656 — Domestic ballistic-fiber body armor for DOJ: Requires the Department of Justice to procure ballistic-resistant body armor made with domestic ballistic fibers. A clean buy-American mandate in a procurement category where foreign content has been the norm. Referred to House Judiciary. View bill
HR 8681 — Cobalt forced-labor sanctions: Imposes sanctions on foreign persons employing forced or child labor in the cobalt mining sector. Targets the upstream pricing distortion that comes from forced-labor production in the critical-minerals supply chain. Referred to House Foreign Affairs and House Judiciary. View bill
COMMITTEE STATEMENTS
No fresh House Ways and Means trade statements in the last 72 hours.
TODAY IN AMERICAN HISTORY
On May 11, 1947, B.F. Goodrich announced the development of the tubeless automobile tire in Akron, Ohio, one of the signature American industrial innovations of the postwar period and a marker of the rubber-and-auto manufacturing concentration the United States led globally at mid-century.
