U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a readout of her call with Ethiopia's chief trade negotiator that she told Mamo Mihretu that if the conflict in northern Ethiopia is not resolved, it could affect Ethiopia's eligibility for the African Growth and Opportunity Act trade preferences program. She said the conflict has created a humanitarian crisis and said there are "ongoing violations of internationally recognized human rights."
After Mexico asked it for consultations (see 2108230041), arguing that the NAFTA approach to roll-up should be continued under USCMA, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said the request is under review. USTR spokesman Adam Hodge said that U.S. government officials "remain committed to fully implementing the USMCA, including the strong auto regional content requirements to which we all agreed.”
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is asking for submissions on Russia's compliance with World Trade Organization rules to assist in the preparation of its annual report to Congress on the subject. Written comments are due by 11:59 p.m. EDT Sept. 22.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai released a readout of her Aug. 12 talk with South Korea’s Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo, in which she said they discussed supply chain resiliency collaboration, tackling climate change and reform of the World Trade Organization.
After a ban on imported fish from an area of the Upper Gulf of California in Mexico failed to stop illegal fishing that threatens a nearly extinct porpoise, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Animal Welfare Institute and the Environmental Investigation Agency are asking the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to ask the tri-national Commission on Environmental Cooperation to establish a formal factual record of Mexico's failure to enforce its ban on gillnets in that region. Once the record is established, the groups are asking USTR to initiate a dispute against Mexico over the issue.
Two longtime career staffers at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative have been nominated for deputy USTR positions. Maria Pagán, the deputy general counsel at the agency, has been chosen to serve as ambassador to the World Trade Organization. According to an announcement from the White House, Pagán handled the implementation package for USMCA and was the lead lawyer in the USMCA negotiation. USTR Katherine Tai said, "María Pagán has proven to be a shrewd negotiator with an unparalleled knowledge of our trade agreements that will serve the United States well as we re-establish relationships with our trading partners and work to reform the World Trade Organization."
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai told Washington state farmers Aug. 5 that she wants to make sure agricultural exporters "can bring your products to new markets and new customers," and that she is holding trading partners accountable for their commitments, such as improved dairy access in Canada and opening Mexico to American fresh potato exports. Tai was visiting the district of Rep. Suzan DelBene, a Democratic leader for free trade and a House Ways and Means Committee member. This followed a similar visit last month to Rep. Ron Kind's district in Wisconsin, where she had the same message to farmers. Kind, too, is a prominent Democrat supporting free trade and a Ways and Means member. In June, Tai visited Flint, Michigan, home to Rep. Dan Kildee, a Ways and Means Democrat who always talks about how trade devastated manufacturing workers in Flint. She heard from workers who told her how trade had affected them.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai told an audience at the U.S.-Africa Business Summit that she wants to meet with her African counterparts later this year "to discuss how we can build on the successes of the African Growth and Opportunity Act." The meeting will be virtual, she said. She said she wants to talk about anticorruption, good regulatory practices and labor and environmental standards with other top trade officials. "As we continue to develop our trade policy with respect to Africa, I also want to hear from businesses, civic organizations, labor leaders, and workers. There are far too many communities that have been left out from trade, labor, and development policy that was enacted without their input," she said in a speech July 27. She also offered technical assistance to countries implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will take no trade action against Vietnam over its currency practices, the agency said in a Federal Register notice. However, as the USTR said at the time the Treasury Department announced an agreement on currency with Vietnam (see 2107190039), if the agency comes to believe Vietnam did not follow through on its commitments, "then the U.S. Trade Representative will consider further action under Section 301."
Seventy-five trade groups, including the American Apparel and Footwear Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Foreign Trade Council and the Oudoor Industry Association, are telling U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai that Vietnamese exports should not face tariffs over either currency manipulation or environmental abuses.