India will lower its tariffs on imported pecans from 100% to 30%, according to its proposed 2023 budget, a longtime priority of U.S. pecan growers.
Japan brought up issues it has around the Inflation Reduction Act, while the U.S. asked Japan to increase its use of ethanol and have better regulatory transparency for "certain products and services," according to a readout of a trade discussion between the two countries released Feb. 3 by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
Although those on the Senate Agriculture Committee hailed the 14% surge in agricultural exports in 2022, when the value reached an all-time high of $196 billion, a half-dozen senators pressed USDA Undersecretary of Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis Taylor on Mexico's plan to block the import of genetically modified corn.
The U.S. requested a second dispute panel over Canada's dairy tariff-rate-quota measures, and under USMCA, that panel will automatically be formed. The U.S. says Canada's revisions to its TRQs after it lost a case "impose new conditions effectively prohibiting retailers, food service operators, and other types of importers from utilizing TRQ allocations. Through these measures, Canada undermines the market access it agreed to provide in the USMCA."
Two U.S. readouts of the meetings between deputies from the three USMCA countries focused on a multitude of irritants and concerns the U.S. has with Canada and Mexico but didn't mention talks on how to resolve the U.S. violation of USMCA in its interpretation of the auto rules of origin (see 2301110058). Mexico and Canada did not issue their own readouts.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and ranking member Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, told U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai that USMCA's full potential has not been realized, and that USTR must pursue "robust enforcement."
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative Chief Agricultural Negotiator Doug McKalip and U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis Taylor, after meeting with Mexican officials over Mexico's plans to phase out the importation of genetically engineered crops, said they appreciate proposed modifications to the presidential decree. "However, these changes are not sufficient and Mexico’s proposed approach, which is not grounded in science, still threatens to disrupt billions of dollars in bilateral agricultural trade, cause serious economic harm to U.S. farmers and Mexican livestock producers, and stifle important innovations needed to help producers respond to pressing climate and food security challenges," they said.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said she and U.K. Secretary of State for International Trade Kemi Badenoch talked about how to strengthen the U.S.-U.K. trade relationship, how to reform the World Trade Organization, and how to confront "the challenges posed by non-market economies."
The top trade official in the EU, Valdis Dombrovskis, said that he would talk about the changes they want to the Inflation Reduction Act during his planned meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai on Jan. 17. He said there have been improvements on how the tax credits for electrical vehicles will be applied, but said, "We're continuing to work on supplies and inputs into batteries and how to make some progress there," as well as other areas.
The U.S. readout of the first round of negotiations for the 21st Century Trade Initiative with Taiwan said the two sides reached consensus in a number of areas, and will continue to negotiate on trade facilitation, good regulatory practices, domestic regulation of services and approaches to boost small companies and fight corruption.