The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Dec. 22 released its 2016 Report on the Implementation and Enforcement of Russia’s World Trade Organization Commitments (here). Russia acted as a responsible WTO member “in some areas” in 2016, but departed from core WTO tenets “on the whole,” USTR said. Russia adopted “inward-looking, import-substitution” economic policies in 2016, and maintains opaque customs regulations for import valuation, tedious import licensing requirements, and troublesome rules for imports of alcoholic products. Moreover, several Russian domestic products could be subject to export restrictions or prohibitions, the report says. But positive actions taken by Russia in 2016 include decreasing its bound tariffs by deadline, notifying appropriate WTO committees of new and draft measures, eliminating a safeguard measure on schedule, working to implement the Trade Facilitation Agreement, and participating in its first WTO trade policy review, according to USTR.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced eligibility for 2016 "trade surplus" tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) for calendar year 2017 (here). USTR found Colombia and five members of the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) eligible for the TRQ. The agency found Panama, the Dominican Republic, Chile, Morocco and Peru do not qualify.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative released the results Dec. 21 of its 2016 Special 301 out-of-cycle review on IP infringement, which redesignated major Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba and its Taobao online shopping arm to its blacklist. The annual report included Alibaba/Taobao among 21 online markets, along with ExtraTorrent, The Pirate Bay, Putlocker and other websites that have repeatedly appeared in the USTR rankings. The report also included 19 physical markets engaged in selling counterfeit copyrighted materials, including six markets in China.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is proposing to rewrite its 41-year-old Privacy Act rule, to update general policies for individuals requesting access to records, how the agency will respond to a Privacy Act request, individuals’ appeals, fees, exemptions, security of records, collection of Social Security numbers, and USTR employee responsibilities under the act, among other things, USTR said (here). USTR will accept comments through Jan. 21. In a separate proposed rule (here), USTR underscored plans to change its system of records. The agency will accept comments on that proposed rule until Jan. 21, and said it intends to implement the changes on Feb. 5, unless it "makes changes based on comments or otherwise."
The G-20 and outside steel-producing countries composing 90 percent of global steel production on Dec. 16 in Berlin launched the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity, Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman announced (here). The officials encouraged forum members to quickly exchange information and take “effective steps” to deal with root causes of excess capacity, including market-distorting support measures. The forum is expected to meet next in February. A communique from the G-20 nations after their September summit in Hangzhou, China, included a pledge to create the forum.
The Obama administration on Dec. 15 filed a World Trade Organization challenge against China’s employment of tariff-rate quotas for rice, wheat and corn, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said (here). Chinese quotas for these commodities were valued at more than $7 billion last year, but USTR claims that China only filled about half the total value of its listed quotas. “China’s TRQ policies breach their WTO commitments and limit opportunities for U.S. farmers to export competitively priced, high-quality grains to customers in China,” U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said in a statement. USTR alleges that China’s administration of quotas for those products is “opaque” and “unpredictable,” and is inconsistent with China’s WTO Accession Protocol and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Although China annually announces the opening of tariff-rate quotas, its application criteria and procedures are unclear, and China doesn’t provide meaningful information on how it administers the quotas, USTR said.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is issuing a final rule (here) detailing how protocols for Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and disclosures will be amended in line with a larger revision of regulations for the agency. In response to comments filed by the Justice Department, USTR is amending a September proposed rule (see 1609220071) to include language to provide for public inspection and copying in an electronic format, clarify suggestions for submitting a "carefully tailored" FOIA request, explain that FOIA response time is measured in working days as opposed to calendar days, and give notice that when USTR needs additional FOIA processing time, it will tell a requester of the services of its FOIA Public Liaison and Office of Government Information Services of the National Archives and Records Administration, among other things. The rule will become effective on Dec. 15.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is issuing a final rule (here) dictating how the agency handles requests to furnish records, information or testimony in formal proceedings in which the U.S. isn’t a named party. The rule will ban USTR employees from producing these types of documentation in response to demands or requests unless they conform with the rules and USTR gives permission for providing the information. The proposed rule outlines information needed from requesting parties and factors USTR’s general counsel might consider when evaluating demands or requests.
Discussions between the U.S. and China have progressed on areas including intellectual property rights and U.S. beef, but China still needs to address other issues related to IPR and excess capacity, top U.S. business officials told Chinese counterparts Nov. 23 during the final day of the 2016 meeting of the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT). “Policy challenges remain in our relationship,” Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker said during the plenary session. “The U.S. private sector has seen strong results for their businesses in China," she said. "Our companies and your companies need to see China further reform, rebalance, and further open your economy.”
The government of Peru plans to amend export documentation to improve tracking of timber through supply chains, implement pre-export inspections and improve the “accuracy” of yearly forest management plans, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said (here) after officials of both nations attended a meeting in Lima last week of the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA)'s Subcommittee on Forest Sector Governance and the Environmental Affairs Council (EAC). Peruvian EAC initiatives between 2016 and 2021 include protecting biological diversity, sustainably managing coastal and marine areas and strengthening environmental institutions, USTR said. U.S. and Peruvian officials also announced the hiring of Dino Delgado to serve as the executive director of the PTPA’s independent secretariat, a role in which he will review public submissions regarding environmental law enforcement. “While Peru has made important progress under the PTPA to combat illegal logging, there is still much more work to be done,” U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said in a statement. “I am encouraged by the concrete actions announced by the Peruvian government, including new actions to help ensure that the timber exported from Peru is legally harvested. For the sake of our forests, our global environment, and our shared future, we will continue to closely monitor the situation in Peru and work closely with them to advance environmental progress.”