U.S. and South Korean officials failed to reach agreement on how to move forward with the countries’ free trade agreement during a meeting Aug. 22, Reuters reported, after U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in July said the U.S. wants to resolve several market access issues facing U.S. exports (see 1708180017). Discussions during the meeting revealed “different views on the free trade agreement” and lack of concurrence on a path forward between the two countries, according to Reuters. South Korea also asserted the U.S. trade deficit with the country, which totaled $27.6 billion in goods in 2016, hasn’t been the result of the trade deal, and South Korean Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong proposed a joint study on the “effects” of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, according to the Reuters story.

The “scope and volume” of textual proposals during the first round of NAFTA renegotiations indicate that all three member countries are committed to an “ambitious outcome,” as negotiating groups started working to advance text and agreed to provide additional text, comments or alternate proposals during the next two weeks, the NAFTA countries said in an Aug. 20 joint statement. Mexico will host the second round Sept. 1-5, and negotiators will continue domestic consultations and work to advance text through August, the joint statement says. “Negotiations will continue at this rapid pace, moving to Canada in late September and returning to the United States in October, with additional rounds being planned for the remainder of the year,” the statement reads. “While a great deal of effort and negotiation will be required in the coming months, Canada, Mexico and the United States are committed to an accelerated and comprehensive negotiation process that will upgrade our agreement and establish 21st century standards to the benefit of our citizens.”

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Aug. 18 initiated an investigation into China under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, to determine whether acts, policies and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property and innovation are “unreasonable or discriminatory” and “burden or restrict” U.S. commerce, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced. Per statute, the investigation must be completed within one year of initiation. Section 301 gives the president broad authority, including import duties, to retaliate against restrictions found to “burden or restrict” U.S. commerce. President Donald Trump on Aug. 14 issued a memorandum directing Lighthizer to determine whether to launch the investigation (see 1708150027). “After consulting with stakeholders and other government agencies, I have determined that these critical issues merit a thorough investigation,” Lighthizer said in a statement.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is adding Togo to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) list of countries eligible to import textiles and apparel under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), USTR said. Effective Aug. 22, USTR is adding Togo to HTS Chapter 98, Subchapter II, U.S. note 7(a), and to Subchapter XIX, U.S. notes 1 and 2(d), which will make it possible for textile and apparel imports from that country to receive AGOA benefits. The modifications will apply to articles entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on Aug. 22 and beyond. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer announced the U.S. was granting Togo a textile and apparel visa authorizing AGOA benefits earlier this month (see 1708090010).

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the International Trade Administration are seeking comments on the costs and benefits to U.S. industry of U.S. and other countries’ government procurement obligations, the agencies said. The government seeks comments by Sept. 18, regarding how U.S. government procurement obligations under all U.S. free trade agreements and the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement affect U.S. manufacturers’ and suppliers’ access to and participation in the U.S. government procurement process. “In addition, because reciprocal access to trading partners’ markets is an important motivation for including government procurement obligations in U.S. free trade agreements and for the United States’ membership in the GPA, the Department and the USTR are also seeking information about the costs and benefits of these obligations to U.S. manufacturers and suppliers competing in U.S. trading partners’ government procurement markets,” the agencies said.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Aug. 17 met with and expressed concerns to Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono regarding Japanese safeguard duties on U.S. beef exports assessed last month (see 1707280033), the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced. They also discussed combating unfair trade practices by third countries, a “priority work area” under the U.S.-Japan Economic Dialogue, as well as other “topics of common concern,” during their meeting in Washington, USTR said. Lighthizer and Kono also agreed to “accelerating discussions” on “specific bilateral trade issues.”

U.S. and South Korean officials will convene a special session of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement Joint Committee in Seoul on Aug. 22, after U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer requested the meeting last month (see 1707130002), the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced. Lighthizer and South Korean Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong will open the meeting with a videoconference, to be followed by “senior-level discussions.” Lighthizer’s July request noted that the U.S. is looking to “resolve several problems regarding market access in Korea for U.S. exports,” and “most importantly, address our significant trade imbalance.”

The U.S. and Colombia reached an agreement for the South American nation to accept more exports of U.S. paddy rice, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced Aug. 17. The agreement lifts “costly and unnecessary fumigation and processing requirements” set in a 2012 deal that enabled U.S. exports of paddy rice to Colombia, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said. The updated agreement also expands access beyond the single Colombian port of Barranquilla. USTR noted Colombia has moved from the 26th to 12th largest importer of U.S. food and agricultural products between 2011 and 2016, after the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement entered into force in 2012, as exports totaled more than $2.4 billion in 2016. U.S. paddy rice exports to Colombia totaled $15 million last year.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said a reworked NAFTA should result in updated customs procedures, in a statement as the first round of renegotiations began on Aug. 16. More specifically, the deal would benefit from verified -- not “deemed” -- country-of-origin requirements, labor provisions in the core text that are “as strong as possible,” and dispute settlement provisions that “respect our sovereignty and our democratic processes,” Lighthizer said. He added that the U.S. “cannot ignore the huge trade deficits, the lost manufacturing jobs, the businesses that have closed or moved” because of incentives in the current agreement. Lighthizer said President Donald Trump isn’t interested in merely “tweaking” provisions, and that the administration believes the deal needs “major improvement.” A trade lobbyist said the first round of talks doesn't include industry stakeholders.

Subsidies and “persistent trade imbalances” in North America will be among the issues addressed during the first round of NAFTA renegotiations set for Aug. 16-20, but the working text will remain classified, an Office of the U.S. Trade Representative official told reporters Aug. 15. “The text itself that will be exchanged among the governments is classified text, so that is not released,” the official said during a briefing that generally summarized the areas USTR plans to cover throughout negotiations. “But we do conduct an extremely transparent and collaborative effort … in developing our objectives, and then consulting with Congress and our stakeholders in this ninety-day period and beyond.” Trade Promotion Authority legislation of 2015 requires a 90-day consultation period between the executive and legislative branches before any administration can start formally negotiating a trade deal.