Elevate your local knowledge

Sign up for the iNFOnews newsletter today!

Select Region

Selecting your primary region ensures you get the stories that matter to you first.

Countertops and rubber bands: US pursues obscure trade cases

CP1697867425
A worker begins production of a kitchen countertop that is being cut from imported quartz slabs from China in the production facility at Marble Uniques in Tipton, Ind., Friday, May 3, 2019. The Trump administration\'s trade warriors are fighting obscure battles over laminated woven sacks from Vietnam, for example, olives from Spain and rubber bands from Thailand. The International Trade Commission in Washington this week will provide an arena for combat over kitchen and bathroom countertops _ or at least the imported quartz slabs that many of them come from. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s high-profile trade offensives have grabbed headlines and rattled financial markets around the world. He’s battling China over the industries of the future, strong-arming Canada and Mexico into reshaping North American trade and threatening to tax cars from Europe and Japan.

But his trade warriors are fighting dozens of more obscure battles, too — over laminated woven sacks from Vietnam, dried tart cherries from Turkey, rubber bands from Thailand and many others.

Under the radar, the Trump administration has launched 162 investigations into allegations that U.S. trading partners dump products at cut-rate prices or unfairly subsidize their exporters — a 224% jump from the number of cases the Obama administration pursued in the same time in office.

News from © iNFOnews.ca, . All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Join the Conversation!

Want to share your thoughts, add context, or connect with others in your community?

Create a free account

iNFOTEL

Related Articles