The Trans-Pacific Partnership textile and apparel chapter should include strong yarn forward rules of origin (ROO) with a limited short supply list composed of non-U.S. produced items, said North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory in a Sept. 24 letter (here) to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman. That discipline is an economic imperative in the face of a subsidy-dominated Vietnamese apparel export industry that has grown 15,000 percent in 10 years and is fuelled by Chinese inputs, said McCrory.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is requesting written public comment for the annual review of country eligibility for benefits associated with the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The USTR African Growth and Opportunity Act Implementation Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee will consider comments in developing recommendations for the AGOA’s 2014 calendar year. The comments should be submitted electronically via http://www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2013-0035, by Oct. 25.
The U.S.-Mongolian trade and investment transparency agreement signed Sept. 24 commits both parties to apply impartial trade and investment procedure and provides opportunity for private sector appeal, said U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman in a press release (here). The agreement will also apply bribery and corruption disciplines, the release said.
The U.S-Japanese Sept. 26 move to form an organic produce partnership will streamline U.S. farmers’ and processors’ access to a rapidly growing Japanese organic market, said the U.S. Trade Representative in a press release. The partnership will eliminate mutual trade barriers for small- and medium-sized organic producers and expedite the export certificate process through an equivalency arrangement, said USTR.
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman will travel to Europe and Asia next week to push progress on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, the World Trade Organization and Trans-Pacific Partnership. His itinerary is as follows:
The European Union will host the second round of Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations in Brussels Oct. 7-11, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said in a press release. The USTR and U.S. International Trade Commission continue to host September roundtable discussions throughout the country to heighten awareness of TTIP (see 13090622). Email ITTNews@warren-news.com for a copy of the release.
The chief trade negotiators for the 12 Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) participant nations made progress toward negotiation conclusion on customs, telecommunications, sanitary and phytosanitary issues, technical barriers to trade, cross border services and labor TPP chapters during four days on meetings Sept. 18-21 in Washington, D.C., said the U.S. Trade Representative in a press release.
Should the Obama administration enact legislation or apply retaliatory tariffs to address Chinese currency manipulation, U.S. employment and economic recovery will suffer, said American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) President and CEO Kevin Burke in a letter to the U.S. Trade Representative Sept. 20. In preparation for an Oct. 4 hearing, USTR requested comment in August on Chinese commitment to the World Trade Organization (WTO) (see 13081409).
The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has requested public comments on the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute over U.S. antidumping and countervailing duties placed on South Korean large residential washers. The South Korean government said on Aug. 29 it wants to begin negotiations with the U.S. to resolve the dispute. If the parties don’t establish a compromise after a 60-day consultation period expires following the Aug. 29 date, the South Korean government may request a WTO panel to decide the case (see 13082912). Comments should be submitted to USTR by Oct. 11 via www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2013-0031, or by contacting Sandy McKinzy at (202) 395-9483.
The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced country-by-country allocations of Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 in-quota quantity of the tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) for imported raw cane sugar, refined sugar (syrups and molasses), specialty sugar and sugar-containing products. The TRQs are effective Oct. 1. The Department of Agriculture initially announced on Sept. 13 that the TRQ in-quota quantity for FY 2014 raw cane sugar totals 1,117,195 metric tons raw value (MTRV), allocated in the following fashion: