Outgoing U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and Mongolia Ambassador to the U.S. Bulgaa Altangerel signed and exchanged letters certifying that their nations completed the bilateral Agreement on Transparency in Matters Related to International Trade and Investment, setting the stage for the agreement to activate on March 20, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said (here). The transparency agreement includes joint commitments to provide opportunities for public comment on and to publish final proposed laws and regulations, and includes the obligation to publish final laws and regulations in English, which should make it easier for U.S. and foreign companies to conduct commerce in Mongolia, USTR said. Other commitments include disciplines on bribery and corruption, USTR said. “The U.S.-Mongolia transparency agreement will help to improve and deepen the U.S.-Mongolia trade relationship to the benefit of both of our economies and our workers and businesses,” Froman said in a statement. “Transparency is critical to the proper and efficient functioning of international trade and investment, and the implementation of this agreement will help provide producers, suppliers, exporters and investors with the needed predictability that comes with a clear understanding of the policies and practices that are going to be applied.” The U.S. and Mongolia signed the transparency agreement itself in September 2013. The Jan. 19 signature of letters starts the 60-day clock for the agreement to enter into force.
The Obama administration on Jan. 18 requested World Trade Organization consultations over regulations that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative says discriminate against the sale of U.S. wine in grocery stores in British Columbia, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman announced (here). Regulations that allow only British Columbia wine to be sold in regular grocery stores in the province violate WTO commitments and hurt U.S. wine producers, the USTR said. “American winemakers produce some of the highest-quality, most popular wines in the world,” Froman said in a statement. “The discriminatory regulations implemented by British Columbia intentionally undermine free and fair competition, and appear to breach Canada’s commitments as a WTO member.” Froman and Acting Agriculture Secretary Michael Scuse said British Columbia is a new and growing export market for U.S. wine.
The U.S. and Paraguay on Jan. 13 signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, creating a forum for both countries to engage on issues including market access, intellectual property rights protection and cooperation at the World Trade Organization, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced (here). “Paraguay was a founding member of the World Trade Organization, the first country in South America to ratify the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, and has long been a good trading partner of the United States,” U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said in a statement. “Today’s agreement provides a vehicle for strengthening U.S.-Paraguayan trade and investment relations and promoting increased economic opportunities for both countries.” Bilateral goods trade totaled approximately $1.7 billion in 2015, up almost 70 percent from 2005, and the U.S. had a $1.4 billion goods trade surplus with Paraguay in 2015.
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman on Jan. 13 requested that the International Trade Commission conduct investigations on business-to-business and business-to-consumer digital technologies developed for overseas sale, according to a letter he wrote to the commission (here). The ITC should provide three reports on various issues involved, he said. Froman asked for the ITC to complete the first report before Aug. 30, the second report before Oct. 29, 2018, and the third report before March 30, 2019.
The U.S. on Jan. 12 requested World Trade Organization consultations over alleged Chinese subsidies to certain producers of primary aluminum, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said (here). The Obama administration’s action -- its 16th case filed against China at the WTO -- alleged that subsidies have artificially expanded Chinese aluminum capacity, production and market share, and have significantly lowered the global price for primary aluminum, causing “serious prejudice” under WTO rules to U.S. interests, USTR said. China appears to subsidize through “artificially cheap” bank loans and artificially low-priced inputs for aluminum production, such as coal, electricity and alumina, USTR said.
Outgoing U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman on Jan. 10 made a final push for approval of the Trans-Pacific Partnership during his last scheduled keynote in his Obama administration post, saying not ratifying the deal would be the “biggest gift” the U.S. could give China, and that it would run afoul of a “get-tough-on-China” policy, which President-elect Donald Trump has espoused. During a speech at a Washington International Trade Association event, Froman said the administration’s fear that China would fill an Asia-Pacific leadership void left by the U.S.’s non-ratification “is coming true before our eyes,” as China negotiates the 16-party Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and continues “excursions” in the South China Sea, according to prepared remarks (here).
Interventionist policies and the predominance of state-owned enterprises present in China continue to distort and bring friction to its trade relations with the U.S., which composes part of a “complex” bilateral trade relationship despite some positive indications for future commerce, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in its 2016 Report to Congress on China’s World Trade Organization Compliance (here). “The United States notes that China’s current leadership, in place since 2013, has highlighted the need to pursue further economic reform in China, but to date not much progress is evident,” the report says. “Economic reform in China is a win-win for the United States and China.” USTR is calling on China to remove preferences for “domestic national champions” and market access barriers, lest the nation’s economic challenges increase and become more difficult. Curtailing interventionist policies would allow for more U.S. exports to the nation and a more balanced trade relationship, USTR said.
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman highlighted the major actions of his agency through the eight years of the Barack Obama presidency, in his Jan. 5 exit memo (here). The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative under Obama focused on removing foreign barriers to U.S. exports, raising global trade standards and enforcing trade rights, Froman said. The memo spotlights the outgoing administration’s negotiation of “high-standard trade agreements” including the Trans-Pacific Partnership, its undefeated record of decided enforcement cases it has brought to the World Trade Organization and its trade preference programs. Froman cited “dramatically” dropping shipping costs, and changes to ways of doing business brought by internet expansion. Froman also said automation has changed how the world produces “almost every good and service,” but acknowledged that it has also “affected” jobs and wages growth. “The fundamental economic question of our time is not whether we can stop globalization, but whether we can use all the tools at our disposal to shape globalization in a way that helps the majority of Americans, and reflects not just our economic interests, but our values,” Froman wrote. “We need to continue to create good jobs, grow wages, and address income inequality. This has been the guiding principle of trade policy under President Obama, and I am proud of our record.”
The U.S. Trade Representative “will still obviously be the principal negotiator on trade deals,” transition spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters Dec. 28. Spicer will work as the press secretary in the administration of President-elect Donald Trump. In recent weeks, transition officials have talked about the significance of Commerce secretary nominee Wilbur Ross, with one saying Ross would “ultimately direct” the incoming administration’s trade policy (see 1612200018). Expect “a much greater team effort” on trade in the new administration, with Ross and others such as Peter Navarro, an adviser who Trump has appointed as director of trade and industrial policy, playing an “instrumental role” and addressing “an agenda and a policy” in this realm, Spicer said. Trump announced Dec. 27 that Jason Greenblatt will be special representative for international negotiations, but that’s a role that will be “bigger than just trade,” Spicer told reporters Dec. 28. Trump has not named an intended nominee for the USTR position.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is requesting written submissions from the public by Feb. 9 concerning foreign countries that “deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights” or deny fair market access to U.S. citizens who rely on intellectual property protection, USTR said (here). In advance of a Feb. 28 public hearing to be hosted by the interagency Special 301 Subcommittee, USTR is asking that the public identify actions that might implicate a particular trading partner as a priority foreign country. Foreign governments will have until Feb. 23 to submit written comments, notices of intent to testify at the hearing, and any prepared hearing statements. USTR plans to publish the National Trade Estimate, then the 2017 Special 301 Report, on or close to April 30.