The American Apparel and Footwear Association and the U.S. Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) were among groups that filed briefs to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative after the interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee held a hearing Oct. 18 as part of its consideration of whether to apply Generalized System of Preferences benefits for travel goods to all program beneficiaries. In an eight-page submission (here), AAFA asserted that the hearing provided “a strong and convincing record” that conferring benefits for travel goods originating in all GSP-eligible nations would align with statutory criteria, after USTR deferred GSP decisions for “beneficiary developing countries” (BDCs) on June 30 (see 1610180063). Expansion of the travel goods designation would support development throughout BDCs, including impoverished areas, AAFA said. “Countries excluded from the June 30 decision have huge pockets of poverty and significant development needs,” the association said. “Clearly, designating travel goods for these other countries would have huge development impacts.”

The Alibaba Group defended itself against charges by the American Apparel & Footwear Association and other groups that the company’s efforts to halt counterfeit listings on its online platforms regularly fall too short. “We routinely collaborate with brands, associations and regulators to maintain the integrity of our marketplaces,” an Alibaba spokesman said in an Oct. 25 email. “Our recent USTR submissions describe our steadfast efforts to fight counterfeiters online and the sources of such production offline. It also reflects our very strong commitment towards intellectual property rights protection.” AAFA (see 1610110035) and the Trademark Working Group (see 1610240028) were among those that recommended in comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative that its 2016 Notorious Markets Report include Alibaba, whose platforms have stayed clear of the list since Taobao was designated in 2012. The Notorious Markets List includes marketplaces that may have been subject to enforcement action or may merit further investigation for possible intellectual property rights (IPR) infringement.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is accepting comments through Dec. 15 on issues related to its request for a World Trade Organization dispute settlement panel to review a case filed jointly with the EU alleging China unfairly leveled export restraints on antimony, chromium, cobalt, copper, graphite, indium, lead, magnesia, talc, tantalum and tin, USTR said (here).

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will accept applications for individuals to serve on binational NAFTA panels to review final determinations on antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings and amendments to a NAFTA party’s AD/CVD provisions, the agency said (here). USTR is inviting applications by Nov. 17 from people who want to be on this NAFTA “Chapter 19 Roster” from April 1, 2017, to March 31, 2018. Binational panels decide whether AD/CV determinations align with domestic laws of the importing NAFTA party using the standard of review that would have been applied by a domestic court of the importing party. A panel can either uphold the determination or remand it to national administering authorities for action “not inconsistent” with the panel’s decision. NAFTA dictates a 75-person roster, with each NAFTA party selecting at least 25 individuals.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is accepting public comments through Nov. 21 on the Trade Policy Staff Committee’s interim environmental review of the World Trade Organization Environmental Goods Agreement, USTR said (here). Executive Order 13141, “Environmental Review of Trade Agreements,” provides for environmental reviews of certain international trade agreements. “The purpose of environmental reviews is to ensure that policymakers and the public are informed about reasonably foreseeable environmental impacts of trade agreements (both positive and negative), to identify complementarities between trade and environmental objectives, and to help shape appropriate responses if environmental impacts are identified,” USTR said. “Reviews are intended to be one tool, among others, for integrating environmental information and analysis into the fluid, dynamic process of trade negotiations.”

The U.S. agreed to a timely review of India’s proposal to export grapes to the U.S., and India will quickly review a U.S. request to export cherries and alfalfa hay to that country after it receives more information, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman said in a joint statement Oct. 20 during the 10th ministerial meeting of the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum in Delhi (here). The U.S. also agreed to ramp up efforts to facilitate Indian rice and honey exports, and India will quickly review a U.S. proposal for a certificate to export pork products to India, according to the statement. The two sides will continue in 2017 to discuss Indian mandatory package size requirements for some pre-packaged foods.

The Senate Finance Committee and American Apparel and Footwear Association CEO Rick Helfenbein were among those who urged the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Oct. 18 to apply duty-free benefits for all countries and all 28 travel goods eligible such treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences. The interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) on Oct. 18 heard public testimony from interested stakeholders, following a USTR request for additional public input after deferring GSP decisions for additions of travel goods produced in GSP beneficiary developing countries (see 1608240018). In written testimony (here), Helfenbein reiterated industry arguments submitted in comments to the TPSC that providing the benefits would help U.S. producers source outside of a dominant China, and that the benefits wouldn’t hurt a niche domestic market. “Productivity in developing countries just can’t match what the levels are in China,” Helfenbein said. “The elimination of duties will level the playing field so all can compete.”

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is accepting public comments on India’s Sept. 9 request for World Trade Organization consultations over cited renewable energy subsidies and domestic content requirements dictated by the states of Washington, California, Montana, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Michigan, Delaware and Minnesota (see 1609120076), USTR said (here). USTR will accept comments anytime during dispute settlement, but comments should be in by Nov. 25 to ensure “timely consideration,” USTR said. India says the state programs are inconsistent with the WTO General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade of 1994, the Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures, the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, and the WTO-establishing Marrakesh Agreement.

The Obama administration requested the World Trade Organization establish a dispute settlement panel to review a case filed jointly with the EU alleging China unfairly leveled export constraints on 11 raw materials, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman announced (here). Those raw materials include antimony, chromium, cobalt, copper, graphite, indium, lead, magnesia, talc, tantalum and tin (see 1607190039). The U.S. and China held unsuccessful consultations on the matter Sept. 8-9, and the WTO Dispute Settlement Body will consider the U.S.’s request for a panel at its Oct. 26 meeting, USTR said. U.S. producers use the challenged materials in sectors including steel, automobiles, aerospace, construction and electronics, the USTR said. Some 90 percent of indium consumed in the U.S. is used in thin-film coating on flat-panel displays, it said. “China specifically committed to abide by fair, non-discriminatory access to raw materials when it joined the WTO,” Froman said. “We intend to hold them to that commitment to ensure that our workers and businesses get all the economic opportunities they’re entitled to under our trade agreements.” Because China is a leading global producer of those raw materials, export duties and quotas give the nation the ability to significantly affect global supply and pricing, USTR said. China committed as part of its 2001 WTO accession agreement to erase export duties for all products except those listed in a specific annex, which doesn’t contain the challenged materials, USTR said.

The U.S. and EU are close to reaching a deal on Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership regulatory compatibility and customs provisions, but negotiators still expect rigorous negotiations ahead in areas including government procurement, geographical indications (GIs) and market access, the chief TTIP negotiators from the EU and Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said during an Oct. 7 press call. On the last day of the TTIP negotiating round in New York, both Dan Mullaney, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Europe and the Middle East, and Ignacio Garcia-Bercero, a director in the European Commission Directorate General for Trade, said that henceforth negotiators will primarily focus on advancing areas of consensus within the ongoing text, but Mullaney indicated they aren’t excluding more sensitive areas from negotiation, either.