U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman discussed the Trans-Pacific Partnership with high-ranking officials from Australia, Brunei, Malaysia and New Zealand on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations economic ministerial in recent days, the Office of the USTR said late on Aug. 24. Absent from the USTR statement was any mention a meeting with Vietnamese officials, and the agency didn't provide further details on the specifics of the talks. Froman also pushed ASEAN parties to ratify the Trade Facilitation Agreement by the World Trade Organization's December ministerial in Nairobi. A number of important Asian countries, including ASEAN members, have recently pledged quick ratifications (see 1506150025). The WTO is aiming for TFA ratifications from two-thirds of members, the threshold for implementation, by the Nairobi ministerial. Only 12 countries including the U.S., have so far ratified (see 1508060016).
Poor infrastructure and inefficient trade facilitation are continuing to hamper the U.S. trade relationship with sub-Saharan African and those “supply-side constraints” are a far bigger challenge than remaining tariffs, said U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) CEO Dana Hyde in an Aug. 23 op-ed. The ten-year renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act in June is a critical move to maintain strong trade relations between the U.S. and sub-Saharan Africa region, but more U.S. partnership in infrastructure development will greatly benefit both African and U.S. exporters, said the op-ed, which appeared in Project Syndicate (here). “Making the most of AGOA will also require improvement in the infrastructure – physical and institutional – necessary for promoting investment and facilitating trade,” said Froman and Hyde. “The issues that need to be addressed include the lack of reliable, affordable electricity, high transportation costs, and weak and inefficient trade-related facilities.” The op-ed pushed Congress to give MCC “authority to pursue regional investments” in order to “help increase economic activity and promote regional integration.”
The International Trade Commission is readying to release a public report in late August on the effects of waivers on competitive need limitations for two Thai products in the Generalized System of Preferences, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said. USTR is giving stakeholders seven calendar days after the release of the ITC report to comment on its contents, said the USTR notice (here).
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative kicked off a busy week as USTR Michael Froman departed on Aug. 22 for Beijing to discuss unspecified trade policy with Chinese officials. Froman spent less than a day there before then taking off to Kuala Lumpur to attend a high-level Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit, a USTR schedule said. Some experts have speculated the U.S. will participate in Trans-Pacific Partnership talks on the sidelines of the Kuala Lumpur summit (see 1508180058). Froman will stay in Kuala Lumpur until Aug. 24, and he will then travel to Gabon for an African Growth and Opportunity Act forum. Froman will then head to Paris on Aug. 28 to meet French officials there.
Curaçao is now meeting the customs criteria of the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act, and U.S. importers are now able to import eligible products from the country under the “enhanced trade benefits” of the CBTPA, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said (here). President Barack Obama gave beneficiary status to Curaçao under the CBTPA and the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act in late 2013 (see 13123024). The Harmonized Tariff Schedule is now modified to include Curaçao in a general note and a note to chapter 98. Curaçao now meets the criteria spelled out in the CBERA on verification of product origin, said USTR. The country formally qualified for the benefits on Aug. 18.
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: