Reforms of Mexico's labor laws passed its Senate overwhelmingly April 29, and that vote was hailed by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. "These reforms will greatly improve Mexico's system of labor justice and are exactly what labor leaders in the United States and Mexico have sought for decades. As we move forward with the ratification of USMCA, the Trump Administration will work closely with members of the United States Congress and the Mexican government to ensure these reforms are implemented and enforced," his office said in a statement the evening of April 29.
Canada and Colombia were removed from the priority watch list for intellectual property violations, and Tajikistan moved off the watch list, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's annual review of countries' policies on patents, trade secrets, counterfeits and piracy. Saudi Arabia was moved up to the priority watch list because of deteriorating conditions there, including "rampant satellite and online piracy," a USTR official said April 25.
Dozens of agriculture trade groups and companies wrote to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to tell him that "the U.S. food and agriculture industry is increasingly disadvantaged by competing regional and bilateral agreements with Japan that have already been implemented, including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the European Union-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EU-Japan EPA)."
Skadden Arps partner Joseph Barloon will become general counsel at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, after current general counsel Stephen Vaughn departs in a few weeks, USTR announced April 22.
The U.S. and China are aiming to reach a trade agreement by early May and sign it later that month, according to an April 17 report by Bloomberg. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are expected to travel to Beijing in late April, according to the report, followed by a Washington visit from Chinese Vice Premier Liu He the next week. During that visit, officials hope to announce a trade agreement, Bloomberg reported.
The World Trade Organization said China is not living up to its promises in how it uses tariff rate quotas for wheat, corn and rice, giving the U.S. a second victory in agriculture disputes with China. China may appeal the panel finding. The WTO said that the fact that state-trading enterprises are given specific shares of the lower-duty import quotas, but that those enterprises don't always use all of the quota, and it is not reallocated to other buyers, means that China restrains the filling of its tariff rate quotas.
The International Trade Commission estimated that by the sixth year after the new NAFTA's ratification, the U.S. economy would have 176,000 more jobs than it would have without the new revised trade deal. That's a 0.12 percent increase compared to the status quo.
The U.S.-Egypt Trade and Investment Council discussed the need for Egyptian labor reforms, and the U.S.'s desire that Egypt improve intellectual property protection, implement the World Trade Organization Trade Facilitation Agreement and that Egypt strengthen its border enforcement. The readout of the meeting, provided by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative late April 12, said the two countries are looking to promote greater reciprocal market access for agricultural and industrial goods. "In this vein, the United States and Egypt are collaborating on the development of scientific, risk-based food safety practices consistent with international guidelines of the Codex Alimentarius Commission," USTR said. The U.S. praised Egypt for relaxing domestic ownership requirements for express shipping companies and Egypt's decision to accept U.S. motor vehicle safety standards. Between the Generalized System of Preferences and Qualifying Industrial Zones programs, about $1 billion of Egyptian exports to the U.S. enter duty free, USTR said.
A report in the Japanese press says that Japan's Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi will meet with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer April 15-16 in Washington, but that auto export quotas, something Lighthizer pushed for in the 1980s, are unacceptable. The free-trade agreement talks, first announced in September 2018 (see 1809260049), could address non-tariff barriers. Nikkei Asian Review reporters say that Japan "is willing to discuss the streamlining of customs procedures should Washington demand them. But it does not plan to negotiate issues that will take years to realize because of the legislative revisions required, including the drug-pricing system, financial regulations and food safety standards." American drug makers are frustrated by new price constraints in Japan, and want that addressed (see 1904030043).
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for April 1-5 in case they were missed.