Canada's chief negotiator for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Kirsten Hillman, traveled to Washington on Aug. 20 "for a one-day consultation meeting with counterparts from the U.S. and Mexico," said a spokeswoman for the Canadian Trade Ministry. An official with the U.S. Trade Representative said Hillman met with acting deputy USTR Wendy Cutler for "constructive meetings." Over past months, U.S. lawmakers and administration officials have aggressively pressed Canada to reform its dairy supply management system and open its market to U.S. and other exports (see 1504070006). The U.S. and Canada are two of the total 12 TPP countries, and TPP party New Zealand has also lobbied hard for more dairy access in a final pact (see 1410280001).
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations kicked off its economic ministerial on Aug. 20 in Kuala Lumpur. Foreign officials and trade experts have predicted recently there will be bilateral Trans-Pacific Partnership discussions on the sidelines of the summit, but those expectations have petered out over recent days (see 1508130020). The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has declined to comment on whether it will participate in TPP talks in Kuala Lumpur. The U.S. is a non-member observer to ASEAN.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is asking for stakeholder comments to help prepare its annual National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (here). The report spells out the “most important” foreign trade barriers impacting U.S. goods trade, foreign direct investment and intellectual property rights protections. USTR aims to use the report to dismantle those barriers in future trade negotiations, said the agency. The agency encourages stakeholders to submit comments via www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR 2015-0014. Comments are due by Oct. 28. USTR officials released the last National Trade Estimate Report in March (here).
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will not hold any public events this week for the first time in months. Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiating countries are likely to hold TPP talks on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Kuala Lumpur at the end of August, said New Zealand Trade Minister Tim Groser recently (see 1508130020). USTR didn't respond for comment.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative asked stakeholders for comments on country eligibility in the African Growth and Opportunity Act, and the agency plans to hold a hearing on AGOA eligibility in mid-September (here). USTR notified the public on the following hearing date and comment deadlines:
U.S. negotiators didn’t show their typical drive to close Trans-Pacific Partnership talks during the latest ministerial in Maui, and the lost momentum may allow the negotiations to languish,the top Japanese negotiator for TPP reportedly said (here). "What every country thought was strange was that the United States did not show its usual stubborn persistence this time but simply gave up," Akira Amari said. Amari said he pressured another TPP summit later in August in order to maintain the momentum so TPP parties don’t “lose interest.” U.S. trade experts have dismissed suggestions that TPP parties are preparing to hold another imminent summit (see 1508100011).
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 is comprised of 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. USTR prefers stakeholders submit comments through www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2015-0008. Comments are due by Oct. 5.
The U.S. is set to end all government policies that allow for discriminatory procurement treatment of goods and services originating in New Zealand, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said (here). That change in policy will be brought on by New Zealand’s formal accession on Aug. 12 to the World Trade Organization’s revised Government Procurement Agreement (see 1507140056). New Zealand’s participation in the pact will bring its total membership to 44 countries, including the 28 European Union states. USTR is waiving any U.S. law that could prevent impartial treatment of New Zealand goods and services in U.S. procurement activities. Those goods and services will now receive the same procurement treatment as U.S. products, said USTR.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is asking for stakeholder comments on the Indonesian challenge at the World Trade Organization over U.S. duties on coated paper (here). The Indonesian government formally requested a settlement panel in the dispute in mid-July, said USTR. The Court of International Trade last upheld the U.S. antidumping and countervailing duties on Indonesian coated paper in early 2013 (see 13022101). USTR asked for comments on the dispute in April, after the two countries launched consultations to reach a compromise (see 1504170012). Those talks evidently failed to yield an outcome acceptable to both parties. New comments are due Sept. 9. USTR encourages stakeholders to submit comments through www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2015-0005.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is readying to hold an Aug. 11 hearing on competitive needs limitations and proposed designations for cotton products, and stakeholders submitted a range of comments in recent days (here). Those comments were due on July 31 in accordance with USTR’s deadlines for the review (see 1507060025). In the comments, industry and government officials pressured the agency to preserve CNLs for a long list of products, from Thai coconuts to Indian gold rope necklaces to Turkish copper. The National Cotton Council expressed support for GSP-eligibility for certain cotton of various specific staple lengths (not carded or combed), certain cotton card strips made from cotton waste and certain cotton fibers (carded or combed) that originate in least developed beneficiary developing countries. The Malawian government also pushed USTR to admit those cotton products. A number of other stakeholders submitted comments.