The interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) is requesting public comments through Oct. 25 on significant foreign barriers to U.S. exports for inclusion in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's 2017 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers, USTR said. Specifically, the TPSC is seeking information on obstructive or inefficient foreign import policies, government procurement restrictions, export subsidies, intellectual property protections, service and investment barriers, government-tolerated “anticompetitive conduct” of firms that restricts sale of U.S. goods in foreign markets, e=commerce trade restrictions, sanitary/phytosanitary barriers, unwarranted standards, conformity assessment procedures, onerous technical regulations, and/or “other barriers,” USTR said. Submissions should include an estimate of the potential increase in U.S. exports connected with the elimination of any cited foreign trade barrier, USTR said.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced country-by-country allocations of additional fiscal year 2017 in-quota quantities of the tariff-rate quotas for imported raw cane sugar. USTR also announced sugar may be entered under the FY17 TRQ until Oct. 31, 2017, one month later than the usual last entry date. These TRQs are effective Aug. 2:
It’s too difficult to reverse flawed World Trade Organization dispute rulings, and China appears to be violating several obligations to the WTO, Stewart and Stewart attorney Terence Stewart said in comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Stewart submitted his comments on July 28 to USTR on the performance of U.S. free trade agreements and trade relations with WTO members with whom the U.S. runs a significant trade deficit but holds no FTA (see 1706290011). While not required, almost all WTO decisions are made through consensus, meaning that winning litigators before WTO dispute panels and the appellate body haven’t been willing to see wins reversed despite the incorrectness of some decisions, Stewart wrote. In some areas of dispute settlement, such as trade remedies, countries have targeted the U.S., “seriously changing” agreements the U.S. negotiated during the Uruguay Round.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced country-by-country reallocations of unused fiscal year 2017 in-quota amounts for the tariff-rate quotas for imported raw cane sugar.
The first round of NAFTA renegotiations between the agreement’s three parties will take place Aug. 16-20 in Washington, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer announced July 19 (here). Aug. 16 is the first day the Trump administration can start negotiations under the Trade Promotion Authority-provided timeline, after the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative formally notified Congress on May 18 of its intentions to start renegotiations (see 1705180043). Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for the Western Hemisphere John Melle will serve as chief negotiator, a capacity in which he will be responsible for day-to-day talks at the staff level, USTR said.
U.S. and Malaysian officials met July 17 in Kuala Lumpur under their Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, and discussed ways to further strengthen trade relations and promote “free, fair and balanced” bilateral trade, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced (here). The two nations during the meeting agreed to work together on outstanding issues, including by establishing working groups related to goods, labor, the environment, intellectual property and financial services, USTR said. The U.S. delegation included USTR and Commerce and State department officials. USTR’s announcement highlighted the U.S.’s nearly $25 billion of goods trade deficit with Malaysia in 2016.
The U.S. and Togo will co-host the annual African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum in Lome, Togo, Aug. 8-10, the State Department announced (here). The 2017 forum will join senior government officials from 38 sub-Saharan AGOA-eligible countries and an interagency U.S. group led by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, including senior officials from the State, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Transportation and Treasury departments, as well as from the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and the U.S. African Development Fund. The forum will explore how countries “can continue to maximize the benefits of AGOA in a rapidly changing economic landscape,” and highlight the role played by women, civil society and the private sector in promoting trade and prosperity, State said.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced country-by-country allocations of fiscal year 2018 in-quota quantity of the tariff-rate quotas for imported raw cane sugar, refined sugar, specialty sugar and sugar-containing products (here). The TRQs are effective Oct. 1, and imports will be allowed in five tranches. The allocations are the same as FY 2016 (see 1507140016) and FY 2017 (see 1605260048), and are based on historical shipment statistics.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer requested a meeting in Washington of the Joint Committee under the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement to consider “possible amendments and modifications,” in a letter dated July 12 (here). The committee must meet in August, with the date selected by mutual agreement, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a news release (here). Lighthizer is looking to “resolve several problems regarding market access in Korea for U.S. exports,” and “most importantly, address our significant trade imbalance,” according to the letter.
U.S. and Philippine officials met on July 10 in Manila under their Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, having “constructive discussions” on customs, agriculture and intellectual property protection, among other issues, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said (here). Officials also discussed the Philippines’ progress in implementing the World Trade Organization Trade Facilitation Agreement and WTO Information Technology Agreement Expansion, USTR said. The agency’s statement also noted the U.S. had a $1.8 billion trade deficit with the Philippines in 2016, and said that bilateral officials agreed to work to foster “free, fair, and balanced trade,” including by promoting increased trade and eliminating trade barriers. Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Barbara Weisel and Philippine Under Secretary of Trade Ceferino Rodolfo chaired the meeting.