Trade Promotion Authority opponents are against U.S. trade in general, said U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue in a speech on Feb. 23 (here). Trade has fueled a boost in U.S. manufacturing, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership are poised to add growth to the U.S. economy, said Donohue. “We need to do all we can to make the case for more American exports,” he said. “We need to reframe the debate and get the facts out. We need to acknowledge and address the legitimate points raised by trade opponents.”
The International Trade Commission is asking for comments by April 10 in connection with its annual investigation on the Dominican Republic “Two-for-One” Earned Import Allowance Program for apparel (here). The ITC has reported a steep decline in usage of the program over the past several years, and has recommended loosening program requirements to increase participation (see 14072543).
The Fish and Wildlife Service is removing the Oregon chub (Oregonichthys crameri) from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife, it said in a final rule (here). The delisting of the freshwater fish, and removal of related restrictions on importation and exportation, takes effect March 23.
U.S. free trade agreements are giving U.S. producers and consumers far easier access to global inputs as well as foreign markets, and the U.S. must stay committed to closing the Trans-Pacific Partnership and other trade pacts, said the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in a trade report released on Feb. 12 (here). U.S. FTAs are integrating U.S. industry into a global supply chain, while boosting domestic manufacturing, said the report. U.S. agriculture is also reaping the benefits of U.S. FTAs through increasing exports abroad, the chamber said.
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman again teamed up with a cabinet official to champion the Trans-Pacific Partnership, this time with a joint blog post with Labor Secretary Tom Perez on Feb. 13 (here). “The Obama Administration is taking unprecedented actions to use our trade policy to promote and protect fundamental labor rights and ensure acceptable conditions of work with respect to minimum wages, maximum hours of work, and occupational safety and health,” said the blog. Froman pushed support for TPP with Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker recently (see 1502100060). Froman highlighted trade efforts to stem illegal wildlife trade, as well. The Feb. 13 blog also touts U.S. efforts to promote quality labor conditions through trade by highlighting a new administration report on the issue (here).
California business groups urged the state to fight a new lawsuit that seeks to overturn California’s safe harbor for lead from Proposition 65 warnings, in a letter dated Feb. 4 (here). The California Chamber of Commerce, joined by national associations including the American Apparel and Footwear Association and the Toy Industry Association, said the economic impact “cannot be understated” of overturning the safe harbor provision, which relieves companies from putting Proposition 65 warnings on products that expose consumers to less than 0.5 micrograms per day of lead.
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker championed Trade Promotion Authority and the broad U.S. trade agenda in a CNN op-ed on Feb. 9 (here). Froman has spoken publicly on several occasions recently as the administration ratchets up support for Trade Promotion Authority. The Trans-Pacific Partnership and other trade initiatives allow the U.S. to create standards in global trade, as opposed to allowing other global powers to do so, said the op-ed, adding that TPP labor and environmental regulations will be stronger than any other trade pact. “In recent years, countries in the Asia-Pacific have struck over 200 trade agreements, while U.S. companies and workers have largely missed out,” said the op-ed. “China has been extremely active, and we cannot afford to sit on the sidelines.”
U.S. companies paid a record $2,671,841,761 in footwear duties in 2014, and the industry is relying on Trade Promotion Authority and the Trans-Pacific Partnership to slash footwear barriers with U.S. trade partners, said the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America in a Feb. 10 statement (here). That’s a 6.6 percent increase from the previous year, said FDRA, including 24 percent more in tariffs on imports from the countries currently negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The FDRA wants duties removed for footwear imports into the U.S., and has tried to move the Affordable Footwear Act in the past (here). Footwear industry representatives also continue to push to remove the Japanese footwear tariff-rate quota and other barriers in TPP countries (see 14040816).
The Guatemalan government challenged the credibility of U.S. claims in an ongoing bilateral labor dispute under the Central American Free Trade Agreement, in a legal briefing made public by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in recent days (here). The Obama administration resumed litigation in the case in September 2014, and USTR recently asked for industry comments on the dispute (see 1501230021). The briefing argues the U.S. failed to make a compelling case, due to questionable testimony and otherwise poor substantiation. The U.S. says Guatemala is falling short of CAFTA-mandated labor protections, notably freedom of association and worker’s conditions, in the shipping, apparel, steel and agriculture sectors, (see 1411050013).
The Energy Department set new energy efficiency test procedures for fluorescent lamp ballasts, in a final rule (here). Changes include a clarification that certain procedures must be followed to test that lamp ballasts meet new energy efficiency standards that took effect in November (see 11111451). Compliance with the final rule is required by Aug. 3.