The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is asking for comments (here) on the Caribbean Basin Initiative, a program that provides permanent duty elimination on a wide range of imports from the Caribbean region. The CBI comprises the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act and amendments to that law in the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act. USTR is asking for comments to meet its statutory obligation to send a report to Congress every two years on the CBI. Stakeholders are encouraged to submit comments on “any aspect of the program’s operation, including the performance of CBERA and CBTPA beneficiary countries,” USTR said. The report to Congress is due by Dec. 31, and USTR is required to focus on labor policies, practices and conditions, as well as broader trade behavior in the CBI-beneficiary countries. Comments are due by Sept. 15.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is seeking public comments on its Annual Review of Country Eligibility for Benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) for 2018, USTR said (here). The Interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee’s AGOA Implementation Subcommittee will convene a public hearing on AGOA eligibility on Aug. 23, and the deadline to file requests to testify there or to file any prehearing comments is Aug. 4. Aug. 30 is the final deadline for comments.
The interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee’s Generalized System of Preferences Subcommittee will convene a public hearing Sept. 26 to examine Bolivia’s compliance with GSP eligibility criteria related to child labor, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said (here). Public reporting by the Labor and State departments indicates that the government of Bolivia in 2014 adopted a Code for Children and Adolescents, which lowered the working age for children to 10 years old for self-employed workers and 12 years old for those in an employment relationship, under certain situations, USTR said. U.S. government reporting also notes concerns about Bolivia’s efforts to enforce national labor laws and create effective protections for working children as provided in its labor laws, the agency said. USTR will accept requests to testify at the public hearing until Sept. 5.
The government of Uganda, as well as apparel-related trade associations from the U.S. and Africa, urged the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to keep Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda eligible for benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), after a March petition requested a review of whether the countries are meeting the statute’s requirements for preferential treatment. USTR last month announced an out-of-cycle AGOA eligibility review after the Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles (SMART) Association in a March 21 petition for the review said that a March 2016 decision by the East African Community (EAC) to phase in an import ban on used clothing and footwear is imposing significant economic hardship on the U.S. used clothing industry (see 1706190017). USTR is holding a hearing on the out-of-cycle review on July 13, and accepted pre-hearing comments through June 30.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on June 29 hosted Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko for a meeting at which Lighthizer stressed the “importance of addressing the bilateral trade imbalance, given the very high and decades-long U.S. goods trade deficit with Japan,” USTR said (here). Lighthizer and Seko also stressed the need to deepen enforcement cooperation to address unfair trade practices by third countries contributing to global economic imbalances, USTR said.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the Commerce Department are seeking comments through July 31 on the performance of U.S. free trade agreements as well as on trade relations with World Trade Organization members with whom the U.S. runs a significant trade deficit but holds no FTA, USTR said (here). Those countries are China, the EU, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, according to USTR. An April 29 executive order tasked Commerce and USTR with submitting to the White House performance reviews to cover violations or abuses of any U.S. FTA, investment agreement, WTO rule governing any trade relation under the WTO, or trade preference program hurting U.S. workers (see 1705010018). The agencies are also asking for comments on whether unfair trade practices and/or agreements, treaties or programs have harmed U.S. intellectual property rights. Further, the Trump administration is seeking information on agreements, treaties or preference programs regarding any successes or setbacks with respect to new jobs created, favorable effects on the trade balance, expanded market access, lower trade barriers or increased U.S. exports.
A renegotiated NAFTA should require Mexico’s strict compliance with Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) standards, include relief mechanisms for the U.S. to offset depressed wages for Mexican farm workers, and protect organic equivalency arrangements reached between parties, agriculture industry representatives told interagency Trump administration officials June 27. During a hearing at the International Trade Commission convened by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, J&J Family of Farms Director of Farming Richard Bowman said along with requiring imports of Mexican food to undergo the same requirements as U.S.-farmed foods under FSMA, an updated NAFTA should also address dumping of cheap Mexican produce in the U.S., perhaps through mechanisms such as weekly quotas.
United Kingdom International Trade Secretary Liam Fox visited U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on June 19 in Washington, where the men discussed the possibility of laying the groundwork for a new trade agreement “soon after Brexit,” the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a statement (here). "Our valuable talks underlined the shared interest in forging a closer trade and economic relationship including making progress on policy coordination, regulatory issues and expanding trade and investment between our economies,” Fox said in a statement. "As our largest single trading partner, we have a strong foundation to build on as we start preparation on joint work to explore a future ambitious trade agreement once the UK has left the EU.” Formal Brexit negotiations started June 19. Lighthizer in a statement said he looks forward to working with Fox and Congress on the future of bilateral trade relations, including exploring the potential of a U.S.-UK trade deal. Trade between the two countries is valued at about $230 billion per year, USTR said.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, in consultation with the interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC), is initiating an out-of-cycle review of the eligibility of Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda to receive benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), USTR said (here). The agency’s decision to review the nations’ eligibility follows a March 21 petition sent to USTR by the Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (SMART). The group requested an out-of-cycle review to determine whether Kenya and the three other named countries are meeting AGOA eligibility criteria, asserting that a March 2016 decision by the East African Community (EAC) to phase in an import ban on used clothing and footwear is imposing significant economic hardship on the U.S. used clothing industry, and is in violation of the AGOA statutory eligibility criteria to make continual progress toward a market-based economy and slashing barriers to U.S. trade and investment, USTR said. The EAC includes all four countries named in the petition.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on June 16 welcomed New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay for a Washington meeting during which they discussed continued cooperation on global dairy market challenges and the U.S.-New Zealand Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, among other things, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said (here). Lighthizer highlighted that U.S. exporters are “deeply committed” to the New Zealand economy, where the U.S. has maintained “steady exports,” USTR said. “He looks forward to building an even stronger, mutually-beneficial trade relationship and working together to ensure fair, transparent access to markets around the world.”