Some 11 products look set to exceed competitive need limitations (CNLs) for calendar year 2016 and lose their eligibility for duty-free access under the Generalized System of Preferences, the U.S. Trade Representative said (here). Products that may exceed CNL waivers in 2016 include the following:
MIAMI -- Prospects for U.S. implementation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership are “unclear” following the election of Donald Trump as the next president, said Sushan Demirjian, assistant deputy trade representative for market access and industrial competitiveness at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, at the Florida Customs Brokers & Freight Forwarders Conference of the Americas on Nov. 14. Despite much “speculation,” nobody can say for sure what will happen to the agreement, said Demirjian, who helped negotiate the deal. It now seems like implementation legislation will not be taken up before Trump takes office, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., indicating Congress won’t consider it during the lame-duck session (see 1611100009). Still to be determined in the transition of presidential administrations, however, are the heads of key economic agencies and the position of congressional leadership, she said. Until that becomes clear, “it’s really difficult to predict anything,” Demirjian said. One early indication of TPP’s prospects will be the USTR’s annual trade report and trade policy agenda, coming in March, which will indicate what the new administration is looking to do in the short term, she said.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will conduct a public review to determine whether to add Argentina as a Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) beneficiary developing country, USTR announced Nov. 7 as officials from the countries met in Buenos Aires for the inaugural meeting of the U.S.-Argentina Council on Trade and Investment (here). Argentine President Mauricio Macri’s administration requested the U.S. consider re-designating the country as eligible for GSP benefits, after the U.S. suspended Argentina from the program in 2012 over a cited failure to pay arbitral awards to the U.S. (see 12032738), USTR said. During the meeting, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman recognized Argentina’s settlement of outstanding arbitral awards with two U.S. companies in late 2013, according to USTR. The meeting was conducted pursuant to the U.S.-Argentina Trade and Investment Framework Agreement signed in March.
The International Wood Products Association (IWPA) urged the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to press Peru to expediently review claims of illegal logging in the country, in a letter sent to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman (here). IWPA released a batch of suggestions to improve the Peruvian forest sector and support bilateral trade in wood products, including improvements to the accuracy and clarity of Peru's "SIGO" forestry information management system and a partnership informing U.S. importers on how to use the system as part of their due diligence programs. U.S. and Peruvian officials are meeting in Lima Nov. 3-4 regarding implementation of the environmental chapter of the U.S.-Peru Trade Partnership Agreement, as well as that agreement's Annex on Forest Sector Governance and the U.S.-Peru Environmental Cooperation Agreement. Senate Finance Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., in August cited concerns about potentially illegally harvested Peruvian timber, calling for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reinvigorate efforts to identify and intercept such timber (see 1608180016). Peru has acknowledged that "significant portions" of a 2015 shipment to the Port of Houston did not comply with Peruvian laws and regulations, USTR recently said (see 1608170039).
The Obama administration is doing everything it can across all levels of federal government to maximize chances that Congress introduces and passes implementation legislation for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said Nov. 1 during the Bureau of Industry and Security Update 2016 Conference on Export Controls and Policy (here). “I cannot overemphasize what’s at stake. If Congress fails to act, the United States will be effectively frozen out of the Asia-Pacific region, economically and strategically,” Froman said. “If the United States walks away from TPP, it will leave a void that China is all too happy to fill, so it can impose its values and interests throughout the region -- values and interests that are markedly different from our own.” Furthermore, an unratified TPP would also translate to lost market share in member countries of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership -- an agreement being negotiated among 16 nations stretching from Japan to India, and including China -- which would hurt U.S. jobs and companies, Froman said. Froman reiterated expected national security issues that a dormant or canceled TPP could pose by citing a quote by Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong: “If you are not prepared to deal when it comes to cars and services and agriculture, can we depend on you when it comes to security and military arrangements?”
The American Apparel and Footwear Association and the U.S. Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) were among groups that filed briefs to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative after the interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee held a hearing Oct. 18 as part of its consideration of whether to apply Generalized System of Preferences benefits for travel goods to all program beneficiaries. In an eight-page submission (here), AAFA asserted that the hearing provided “a strong and convincing record” that conferring benefits for travel goods originating in all GSP-eligible nations would align with statutory criteria, after USTR deferred GSP decisions for “beneficiary developing countries” (BDCs) on June 30 (see 1610180063). Expansion of the travel goods designation would support development throughout BDCs, including impoverished areas, AAFA said. “Countries excluded from the June 30 decision have huge pockets of poverty and significant development needs,” the association said. “Clearly, designating travel goods for these other countries would have huge development impacts.”
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is accepting comments through Dec. 15 on issues related to its request for a World Trade Organization dispute settlement panel to review a case filed jointly with the EU alleging China unfairly leveled export restraints on antimony, chromium, cobalt, copper, graphite, indium, lead, magnesia, talc, tantalum and tin, USTR said (here).
The Alibaba Group defended itself against charges by the American Apparel & Footwear Association and other groups that the company’s efforts to halt counterfeit listings on its online platforms regularly fall too short. “We routinely collaborate with brands, associations and regulators to maintain the integrity of our marketplaces,” an Alibaba spokesman said in an Oct. 25 email. “Our recent USTR submissions describe our steadfast efforts to fight counterfeiters online and the sources of such production offline. It also reflects our very strong commitment towards intellectual property rights protection.” AAFA (see 1610110035) and the Trademark Working Group (see 1610240028) were among those that recommended in comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative that its 2016 Notorious Markets Report include Alibaba, whose platforms have stayed clear of the list since Taobao was designated in 2012. The Notorious Markets List includes marketplaces that may have been subject to enforcement action or may merit further investigation for possible intellectual property rights (IPR) infringement.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will accept applications for individuals to serve on binational NAFTA panels to review final determinations on antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings and amendments to a NAFTA party’s AD/CVD provisions, the agency said (here). USTR is inviting applications by Nov. 17 from people who want to be on this NAFTA “Chapter 19 Roster” from April 1, 2017, to March 31, 2018. Binational panels decide whether AD/CV determinations align with domestic laws of the importing NAFTA party using the standard of review that would have been applied by a domestic court of the importing party. A panel can either uphold the determination or remand it to national administering authorities for action “not inconsistent” with the panel’s decision. NAFTA dictates a 75-person roster, with each NAFTA party selecting at least 25 individuals.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is accepting public comments through Nov. 21 on the Trade Policy Staff Committee’s interim environmental review of the World Trade Organization Environmental Goods Agreement, USTR said (here). Executive Order 13141, “Environmental Review of Trade Agreements,” provides for environmental reviews of certain international trade agreements. “The purpose of environmental reviews is to ensure that policymakers and the public are informed about reasonably foreseeable environmental impacts of trade agreements (both positive and negative), to identify complementarities between trade and environmental objectives, and to help shape appropriate responses if environmental impacts are identified,” USTR said. “Reviews are intended to be one tool, among others, for integrating environmental information and analysis into the fluid, dynamic process of trade negotiations.”