Crypto News: Supply Lines: Interview with USTR

US Trade Representative Katherine Tai traveled to the election-year battleground state of Pennsylvania recently to discuss the Biden administration's strategy with tariffs and industrial policy.

I interviewed Tai during the trip, and here's what she had to say on some key issues:

US tariffs on China: "At the moment we are not negotiating anything with the PRC on trade, but one day we may be back at the table, in which case these tariffs will be useful as leverage, right?"

One reason for the continuation of the tariffs "is we really haven't seen the PRC make any changes to its fundamental systemic structural policies that would make sense for us to provide any relaxation," she said.

Worker-centered approach: The Biden administration sees tariffs as "useful, especially if you can combine them with other economic policies" designed to help workers, she said.

Tariffs can also be an "effective part of a new kind of industrial policy that both allows you to try to level the playing field and to create this defensive wall to prevent these unfairly produced, excessively produced goods from flowing into your market," Tai said.

Trade policy coordination: "I would say on say the EV tariffs, the solar tariffs, steel and aluminum, you see us really converging around a more coordinated kind of defense with the Canadians, even with the Mexicans to some degree," she said.

The US still has "challenges with Mexico, but the Mexicans did something very important when on steel for example, they increased their tariffs on all their non-FTA partners in August of 2023," according to Tai. "Then also with the Europeans too, actually creating a defensive system on EVs."

WTO leadership race: "There's a period of time when others who may be interested can throw their hat in the ring. And then once you know what the field looks like, then there's a whole other process that goes from there," Tai said.

Because it's a process that'll take several months, "I think that that's what you're seeing playing out in Geneva right now," she said. "From our perspective, we are going to ensure that the integrity of the process is respected."

Related Reading:

—Eric Martin in Washington

Click here for more of Bloomberg.com's most-read stories about trade, supply chains and shipping.

Importing fuel | South Africa's rapid switch to become a net importer of fuel creates supply risks requiring infrastructure to store and transport the fuel, according to state-owned logistics firm Transnet SOC. Africa's most industrial nation relied on imports for 61% of its petroleum product supply in 2023 compared with 22% four years ago due to the shutting of multiple refineries, Transnet said in a presentation last week.

Biden administration officials have discussed capping sales of advanced AI chips from Nvidia and other American companies on a country-specific basis.
Chinese steel exports in September hit their highest level since 2016, in a surge that risks stoking trade tensions as the top producer offloads its surplus to the rest of the world.
The US's top labor official met with leaders of Boeing and striking union workers as the monthlong stoppage takes an increasing toll on the planemaker.
Saudi Export-Import Bank signed a $25 million credit agreement with South Africa's Standard Bank Group to facilitate trade between the kingdom and the continent's largest economy.
Uganda plans to build a rail line linking a town in the east to a proposed port on Lake Victoria for a combined $600 million, which will provide better logistics links through Tanzania to the Indian Ocean.
Slovakia's prime minister is borrowing from his Hungarian counterpart's playbook — courting Beijing and Moscow to reduce his reliance on the European Union.
Turkey's Yapi Merkezi Holdings signed a €2.7 billion deal to build a railway line in Uganda, reviving a project that struggled to find financing after China withdrew its support.

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The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index dipped 3.4% sequentially to 2,063 in the week ended Oct. 11 following the Golden Week break. Container spot rates will likely remain on a downtrend trend in the coming weeks, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.
South Korea's Hyosung plans to invest an additional $4 billion in Vietnam, in projects such as data centers, manufacturing of high-tech industrial materials, and carbon fiber production.
Run SPLC after an equity ticker on Bloomberg to show critical data about a company's suppliers, customers and peers.
Use the AHOY function to track global commodities trade flows.
See DSET CHOKE for a dataset to monitor shipping chokepoints.
For freight dashboards, see {BI RAIL}, {BI TRCK} and {BI SHIP} and {BI 3PLS}
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