The Committee to Support U.S. Trade Laws (CSUSTL) on May 11 added itself to the list of entities that support Robert Lighthizer’s confirmation to be U.S. trade representative, saying in a statement it looks forward to working with the “bold strategist” and “skillful negotiator.” “For decades Bob Lighthizer has been an intelligent and forceful proponent of free and fair trade policies,” CSUSTL Executive Committee member Andrew Kentz said in a statement. “As USTR, he will be an effective advocate for U.S. manufacturers, farmers, fishermen and workers competing in the international marketplace.”
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative kept the same countries included on last year’s higher- and lower-tier watch lists for copyright and other intellectual property rights violations on its 2017 Special 301 Report released April 28 (here). The report highlighted China’s continued inclusion in the higher-tier “Priority Watch List,” because of “longstanding and new IP concerns” that “strongly merit attention.” “China is home to widespread infringing activity, including trade secret theft, rampant online piracy and counterfeiting, and high levels of physical pirated and counterfeit exports to markets around the globe,” USTR said.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is issuing a final rule (here) that will adopt minor technical changes to a December rule outlining amendments for the agency's Freedom of Information Act requests and disclosures (see 1612140018). The final rule, to become effective April 25, will also adopt without change a proposed rule updating general policies for individuals requesting access to records, how the agency will respond to a Privacy Act request, individuals’ appeals, fees, exemptions, security of records, collection of Social Security numbers, and USTR employee responsibilities under the act, among other things (see 1612210004).
Sanitary/phytosanitary (SPS) regulations, currency manipulation and investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) could be areas appropriate to cover in the expected NAFTA renegotiation, analysts said during a panel discussion on Capitol Hill April 19. SPS could be a “low-hanging fruit” to tackle during planned discussions, partly because the U.S. already has a deep Rolodex of Canadian and Mexican regulators in that area due to the high volume of agricultural trade among the three nations. “The question is, is it seen as a win-win, or is it something we’re going to have to pay something for?” said Darci Vetter, former chief agricultural negotiator for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, during the session. “And then we’ll have a strategic decision to make.”
The U.S. signed the multilateral Arrangement on Information Exchange, Technical Cooperation and Counterfeiting at a meeting of the World Wine Trade Group in Brussels on April 13, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced April 18 (here). The non-binding agreement will facilitate wine trade by encouraging information exchanges and cooperation on wine-related issues, including halting the growth of wine counterfeiting globally. The agreement was also signed by Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Georgia, South Africa and New Zealand.
Guatemala will accelerate tariff elimination on exports of fresh, frozen and chilled chicken leg quarters, after officials from the nations negotiated since February on the matter, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said (here). U.S. poultry exports would have faced a 12.5 percent tariff in Guatemala without the agreement, USTR said. From now through Dec. 31, 2021, Guatemala will allow imports of 1,000 metric tons of processed chicken leg quarters to enter duty-free annually under a tariff-rate quota. The TRQ and all tariffs will be eliminated on Jan. 1, 2022. Chicken leg quarters composed $82 million, or approximately 8 percent, of the U.S.’s more than $1.1 billion in agricultural exports to Guatemala last year, and U.S. poultry exporters had a 98 percent market share of all imports of chicken leg quarters into Guatemala in 2016, USTR said.
U.S. and Thai trade officials met April 3 in Bangkok under the U.S.-Thailand Trade and Investment Framework Agreement to discuss outstanding issues and trade expansion, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a statement (here). U.S. officials underscored the Trump administration’s priority on strengthening ties with the Asia-Pacific region, including bilateral initiatives “aimed at promoting economic growth, job creation, and competitiveness,” as well as addressing unfair trade practices. Officials discussed customs, agricultural, intellectual property, labor, financial services and other barriers facing U.S. exports to Thailand, USTR said. The nation is the U.S.’s 21st-largest trading partner, as two-way goods trade totaled $40 billion in 2016.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative released its annual 2017 National Trade Estimate Report (here) on March 31. The report, which details trade barriers in some 60 countries and the European Union, highlights Canada’s de minimis limit of C$20, which it called “the lowest among industrialized nations,” and restrictions of U.S. seed and grain exports to Canada. The report also took issue with China’s protection of intellectual property rights and lack of transparency on trade-related measures. Concerns continue about Mexico’s customs administrative procedures, including “insufficient prior notification of procedural changes, inconsistent interpretation of regulatory requirements at different border posts, and uneven enforcement of Mexican standards and labeling rules,” it said.
U.S. trade officials underscored the Trump administration’s commitment to expanding ties with the Asia-Pacific region during a meeting with Vietnamese officials March 27 and 28 in Hanoi, according to a press release from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (here). Officials from the nations met under the U.S.-Vietnam Trade and Investment Framework Agreement to discuss strengthening trade ties and outstanding trade issues, USTR said. The U.S. urged Vietnam to “promptly address” issues related to customs, agriculture, food safety, industrial goods, illegal wildlife trafficking, intellectual property, digital trade, transparency, and “good governance,” USTR said. Officials from both nations agreed to launch working groups focused on resolving bilateral issues, starting with groups on agricultural, food safety, industrial goods, IP, and digital trade issues, USTR said. Vietnam also updated the U.S. on plans to implement labor reforms.
U.S. trade officials met with Afghan counterparts on March 27 and 28 in Kabul to discuss customs, trade facilitation, government procurement procedures, intellectual property, U.S. assistance for Afghanistan's accession to the World Trade Organization, and other bilateral trade and investment issues, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said in a statement (here). The U.S. and Afghanistan also talked about opportunities for Afghanistan's expanded use of the Generalized System of Preferences, the need for full implementation of the 2010 Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement, and the role of women in growing trade. In 2016, the U.S. exported $913 million in goods to Afghanistan and imported $34 million in goods from the country, USTR said.