International Trade Law News

Ron Kirk was confirmed by the Senate today to be the next U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). The vote was 92-5. As USTR, Kirk is member of President Obama’s Cabinet and will serve as the President’s principal trade advisor, negotiator and spokesperson on international trade issues.

Separately, this morning the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing this morning on the nomination of Governor Gary Locke to be the 36th Secretary of Commerce. The video webcast of the hearing, as well as the prepared testimony of Governor Locke and other participants in the hearing, can be found here.

Labels: Congress, USTR

Following yesterday's confirmation hearing for U.S. Trade Representative nominee Ron Kirk, today's Washington Post reports on the Obama Administration's proposed changes to U.S. Trade Policy:

Even as world trade takes its steepest drop in 80 years amid the global economic crisis, the administration is preparing to take a harder line with America's trading partners. It will seek new benchmarks before supporting already-written trade agreements with Colombia and South Korea and is suggesting that it will dig in its heels on global trade talks, demanding that other countries make broader concessions first.

Labels: USTR

The U.S. Trade Representative has announced that an agreement was signed on October 1, 2008 that will provide Costa Rica with an extension of time until January 1, 2009 to join the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR).

Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the United States signed CAFTA-DR on August 5, 2004 and is now in force for all signatories, except Costa Rica. Costa Rica approved CAFTA-DR in a national referendum in October 2007 and the implementation process is continuing.

Labels: USTR

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has announced that it is requesting written public comments for the annual review of the eligibility of sub-Saharan African countries to receive the benefits of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

The notice lists the 41 African countries that are currently eligible and the seven countries that are not currently eligible for AGOA benefits (Central African Republic, Republic of Cote d'Ivoire, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, State of Eritrea, Somalia, Republic of Sudan, Republic of Zimbabwe).

Comments on the AGOA eligibility requirements of sub-Saharan African countries must be submitted to USTR by October 20, 2008.

Labels: USTR

The Financial Times reported today that the United States Trade Representative is close to filing a complaint against China in the World Trade Organization challenging China's export restrictions on raw materials used in steel-making and other industries.

The article states:

The US has been working on the case intensely for the past few months, and could move ahead with a request for consultations – the first step in the WTO dispute settlement process – within weeks, according to people close to the discussions.

A WTO fight over China’s treatment of raw materials would shake up the global steel and chemicals industries, where China has emerged as a leading producer and competitor to western companies in recent years.

The final decision has yet to be made but a move by the US before the presidential election in early November would support Republican claims that the Bush administration has not been shy about bringing WTO cases against China that it believes it can win. Amid increasing scepticism about the benefits of trade in the US, Democrats in Congress have attacked the administration for being too lax on trade enforcement.

The US is expected to argue that Chinese export quotas and taxes on raw materials such as metallurgical coke, molybdenum, silicon carbide and fluorspar used in steel production artificially deflate domestic prices and inflate global prices, putting US producers at a disadvantage in violation of WTO rules.

US officials have spent the past several months narrowing the focus of a potential case from an initial list of more than a dozen raw materials to a handful of products where the US is confident that China breached the “protocol of accession” it signed on joining the WTO in 2001, one person familiar with the matter said. Other items that have been considered include zinc, bauxite and antimony.

Labels: China, USTR

The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced today that it seeking public comments and will hold a hearing in Washington, DC in October for purposes of obtaining information to be used in the preparation of its statutorily-mandated annual report on China’s compliance with its World Trade Organization accession obligations.

USTR is seeking comments and testimony on China's commitments in the following areas:

(a) Trading rights;
(b) import regulation;
(c) export regulation;
(d) internal policies affecting trade;
(e) intellectual property rights;
(f) services;
(g) rule of law issues; and
(h) other WTO commitments.

In addition, USTR requests that interested persons also specifically identify unresolved compliance issues that warrant review and evaluation by USTR's China Enforcement Task Force.

Written comments are due on September 22, 2008. The hearing will be held in Washington, DC on October 2, 2008.

Last year's report to Congress can be found here.

Labels: China; WTO, USTR

The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) published in today's Federal Register its annual announcement requesting interested parties to submit comments on significant barriers to U.S. exports of goods and services. The information submitted will be used by USTR to compile the National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE) and assist USTR in facilitating negotiations aimed at reducing or eliminating these barriers.

The information submitted should relate to one or more of the following ten categories of foreign trade barriers:

(1) Import policies;

(2) Standards, testing, labeling, and certification;

(3) Government procurement;

(4) Export subsidies;

(5) Lack of intellectual property protection;

(6) Services barriers;

(7) Investment barriers;

(8) Anticompetitive practices with trade effects tolerated by
foreign governments;

(9) Trade restrictions affecting electronic commerce; and

(10) Other barriers.

Comments must be submitted by November 6, 2008. Information on how and where to submit comments is contained in the Federal Register notice.

The 2008 version of USTR's National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers can be found here.

Labels: USTR

The U.S. Trade Representative's (USTR) Trade Policy Staff Committee is requesting public comments for inclusion in the 2008 version of the National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers.

Information submitted should relate to one or more of the following categories of foreign trade barriers:

1. Import policies (e.g., tariffs and other import charges,quantitative restrictions, import licensing, and customs barriers);
2. Standards, testing, labeling, and certification;
3. Government procurement (e.g., "buy national'' policies and closed bidding);
4. Export subsidies (e.g., export financing on preferential terms and agricultural export subsidies that displace U.S. exports in third country markets);
5. Lack of intellectual property protection (e.g., inadequate patent, copyright, and trademark regimes);
6. Services barriers;
7. Investment barriers;
8. Anticompetitive practices with trade effects tolerated by foreign governments;
9. Trade restrictions affecting electronic commerce; and
10. Other barriers (including bribery and corruption).
    

Labels: USTR

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) yesterday announced the results of the 2006 Annual Review of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). As a result of the review, USTR terminated GSP eligibility for 21 products and granted waivers of the competitive need limitations on 115 products.

The 21 products were removed from the GSP program because they "can compete effectively in the U.S. market". Among the products that will be removed from GSP eligibility are: brake and brake parts and ferrozirconium from Brazil; kola nuts from Cote d’Ivoire; gold jewelry and brass lamps from India; wiring harnesses from the Philippines; gold jewelry from Thailand; and methanol from Venezuela. The 2006 import value of the products removed from GSP eligibility was approximately $4.8 billion. Total U.S. imports from beneficiary developing countries under the GSP program in 2006 were $32.6 billion, a 22% increase over 2005.

A PDF document containing a complete list of the products that were removed and added to the GSP program (and their corresponding HTS numbers can be found at the following link.

Labels: GSP, USTR

Various press reports indicate that former U.S Trade Representative Robert Zoellick is President Bush's choice to serve as the next president of the World Bank.

Labels: USTR

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has announced in Monday's Federal Register that it will conduct a 2007 Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Product and Country Eligibility Practices Review. Petitions to modify the list of products that are eligible for duty-free treatment under the GSP program and to modify the GSP status of certain GSP beneficiary developing countries because of country practices must be submitted to USTR by June 22, 2007 . The deadline for competitive need limitation (CNL) waivers are due on November 16, 2007.

Labels: GSP, USTR

Three members of Congress have criticized Saudi Arabia following the report in Monday's Jerusalem Post that Saudi Arabia continues to enforce the primary boycott of Israeli goods.

Friday's edition of the Jerusalem Post contains quotes from Representatives Howard Berman (D-CA), Joseph Crowley (D-CT) and Mike Pence (R-IN) that are strongly critical of Saudi Arabia for continuing the boycott, despite their agreement to terminate the boycott during the WTO accession process. The three members of Congress called for Saudi Arabia to end their boycott immediately.

The article also quotes an official from the U.S Trade Representative's Office that:

"At the time of its accession to the WTO, Saudi Arabia did not invoke the nonapplication provisions of the WTO Agreement with respect to any member, and therefore has taken on all WTO rights and obligations, including most-favored-nation treatment, with respect to all members, including Israel."

In our view," the official said, "continuing the primary boycott of Israel would not be consistent with these commitments."

Labels: Boycotts, USTR

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative today released its 2007 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE), which contains an inventory of the most important foreign trade barriers affecting the U.S. export of goods and the U.S. actions to reduce and eliminate those barriers. The 2007 NTE was delivered to Congress on March 30, as required by statute. The full report, including the country-by-country analysis, can be found at the following link.

Labels: USTR