The Fish and Wildlife Service is listing a species of “goat-antelope” from Pakistan and Afghanistan as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, in a final rule that takes effect Nov. 6. The rule takes two subspecies previously listed as endangered, the Suleiman markhor and Kabul markhor, and replaces them with a single listing for the straight-horned markhor in the threatened category. The provisions now include a special rule to allow importation of sport-hunted trophies of the straight-horned markhor as long as the hunt was part of a conservation program that meets certain criteria.

The U.S. goods and services deficit decreased to $40.1 billion in August from $40.3 billion in July, the Census Bureau said. The goods deficit increased $0.1 billion in August, but increases in the services surplus counteracted the total figure. Goods exports increased $0.1 billion to $138.8 billion, and goods imports increased $0.1 billion to $198.7 billion, said Census. The U.S. registered export increases in capital goods ($1 billion); consumer goods ($0.8 billion); and industrial supplies and materials ($0.7 billion). The July to August increase in imports reflected a slight boost in capital goods ($1.8 billion) and consumer goods ($0.7 billion).

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership aims to sacrifice environmental protections across the Atlantic, and the pact illustrates the close-knit relationship between U.S. negotiators and big business, particularly in the services sector, said Michelle Chan, director of economic policy at Friends of the Earth. The association, a global activist network, issued a statement on Sept. 30 to coincide with a Coalition of Services Industries event on the same day, as well as the outset of the 7th round of TTIP negotiations, launched on Sept. 29 outside Washington, D.C. “The TTIP round coincides with a corporate confab today, and illustrates the political ‘revolving door’ between top U.S. trade officials and corporate lobbyists,” said the association in the statement. The statement emphasized U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman’s background as a Citigroup executive and a player in President Barack Obama’s campaign.

The U.S. will pay $300 million upfront to the Brazilian Cotton Institute in order to boost technical assistance and capacity building in the country, ranging from pest control to market information services, as part of a deal to stamp out the threat of Brazilian retaliation over a long-running cotton dispute. The Memorandum of Understanding (here), signed on Oct. 1, staves off a Brazilian challenge over the U.S. subsidies and export credits through Sept. 30, 2018.

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is edging toward non-tariff barrier rules that could scale back labeling regimes for food containing genetically modified organisms, said dozens of domestic and international health and activist groups in a Sept. 30 letter to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman. The vast majority of Americans want to know if the food they eat has GMOs in it, and state laws on the issue are increasing, but the TTIP negotiations are threatening to limit the right to label GMO products, said the letter.

The reliance on global supply chains among U.S. and European apparel, textile and footwear manufacturers boosts the need for an ambitious Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership that will remove more tariff and non-tariff barriers for sourcing and sales in those sectors, said three U.S. and European industry groups in a Sept. 30 position paper. The 7th round of TTIP negotiations are currently underway outside Washington, D.C. The TTIP should include a customs chapter that puts into place uniform facilitation and trusted trader preferences, said the industry associations.

The U.S. and EU need to boost transparency in Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations, said newly-minted European Union trade chief Cecilia Malmstrom during her Sept. 29 confirmation, while calling for a “new start” in the talks. The 7th round of TTIP negotiations launched on Sept. 29 in Chevy Chase, Md. and will continue through Oct. 3. "We must demonstrate that we are not negotiating a secret deal behind the public's back," said Malmstrom, according to the Associated Press.

Parties to the Information Technology Agreement should come together in the coming weeks to broker an expansion deal before the November Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Beijing, industry leaders said in a Sept. 28 statement. The expansion deal would eliminate tariffs on more IT products, and also “help restore confidence” in the WTO, following the recent collapse of the Trade Facilitation Agreement. WTO members have yet to chart a path forward in TFA negotiations (see 14092522).

The number of U.S. companies that plan to boost investment in China over the next year is notably fewer than in the previous 12 months, said the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC) on Sept. 29, while releasing a survey on the business climate in China for U.S. companies. Rising local competition and costs are cutting into U.S. profit margins, but U.S. companies are still widely profitable, said an executive summary of the findings. “Policy uncertainty continues to temper executive optimism,” said the USCBC. “Companies have seen little tangible impact from China’s economic reforms and report little improvement in any of the top 10 issues over the past year.”

The Fish and Wildlife Service issued a public notice on Sept. 23 advising the trade community that it will no longer allow importers of seized merchandise to contest forfeiture both administratively through a petition for remission and in the courts through judicial forfeiture proceedings. Effective Oct. 7, the agency is amending the instructions on its Notice of Seizure and Proposed Forfeiture to remove language that suggested importers can pursue both remedies.