The U.S. Trade Representative is seeking comments on potential changes to competitive need limitations under the Generalized System of Preferences program. Comments can be submitted on:

Imports of eligible products from Cote d’Ivoire now qualify for textile and apparel benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), according to the U.S. Trade Representative. The announcement, which makes changes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule to accommodate Cote d'Ivoire's inclusion in the list of AGOA countries, is effective March 19. The country has adopted an effective visa system and related procedures to prevent unlawful transshipment of textile and apparel articles and the use of counterfeit documents connected to shipping such articles, USTR said. The West African country is also making substantial progress toward implementing and following the customs procedures required by AGOA. Those procedures assist customs in verifying product origin. Importers claiming preferential tariff treatment under AGOA for entries of textile and apparel articles should ensure they meet applicable visa requirements., USTR said.

The Office of U.S. Trade Representative is seeking comments on Vietnam’s complaints about U.S. antidumping measures on certain types of shrimp 13030116. Vietnam requested the creation of a World Trade Organization dispute settlement panel over the dispute at the end of February. Comments can be submitted to www.regulations.gov, by April 16 to ensure timely consideration by USTR.

The U.S. wants establishment of a World Trade Organization dispute settlement panel on Indonesia’s “trade-restrictive measures” applied to horticultural products, animals and animal products, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk announced March 14. In a statement, Kirk called Indonesia’s measures “a complex web of import licensing requirements that, along with quotas, have the effect of unfairly restricting U.S. exports.” Indonesia implemented trade restricting import licensing requirements for horticultural products in 2011, the statement said. Affected products include fruits, vegetables, flowers, dried fruits and juices. The country has similar licensing and quota regimes for animals and animal product imports, the statement said. The U.S. is claiming Indonesia is acting inconsistently with several WTO obligations, including the general tariff agreement. The two countries held consultations on this issue in February, but concerns were not resolved, the statement said.

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk formally announced his resignation March 14 and named Demetrios Marantis acting USTR effective March 15. Marantis has been deputy USTR since 2009, focusing on trade negotiations and enforcement in Asia and Africa. In a statement, Kirk called Marantis “instrumental in successes from the completion of the U.S.-Korea trade agreement to the advancing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and beyond.” Before joining USTR, Marantis was chief international trade counsel for the Senate Finance Committee. Kirk confirmed he was leaving his post in January 13012310. President Obama has not nominated Kirk’s successor.

Customs, telecommunications, investment and phytosanitary measures were among the issues at least partially resolved at the most recent round of Trans-Pacific Partnership talks, which ended March 13 in Singapore, according to the U.S. Trade Representative’s office. Some negotiating groups -- including regulatory coherence, development, customs and telecommunications -- will not meet at the next negotiating round because of this progress, the USTR statement said. This will allow future talks to concentrate on the most challenging issues that remain, including “intellectual property, competition and the environment,” the statement said. The next TPP negotiating round will be May 15-24 in Lima, Peru.

Any International Services Agreement should lower barriers to digital services trade and ensure that digital products receive market access and other open market benefits -- including intellectual property protection -- a Software and Information Industry Association representative said in written testimony to the U.S. Trade Representative. David LeDuc, senior director of public policy at the association, submitted the testimony for the USTR’s March 12 public hearing on the Obama Administration’s intent to enter into negotiations for an International Services Agreement (ISA).

The U.S. and Taiwan agreed to joint principals on information and communication technology services and plans to combat investment and technical trade barriers at the most recent meeting of the U.S.-Taiwan Trade and Investment Framework Agreement Council. The joint agreement on technology services calls for governments to allow cross-border information flows, foreign participation in information and technology service sectors, and maximizing spectrum use. Read the statement here. The agreement on trade barriers is a broad statement about each country’s commitment to international investment, including calls for strong investor protection and fair dispute procedures (here).

The U.S. Trade Representative is seeking proposals on accelerating tariff eliminations and modifications to the rules of origin under the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, said a Federal Register notice to be published March 12. The U.S. and Colombia have not decided whether to actually accelerate tariff elimination or change origin rules, the notice said. Any change will consider the effect on transaction and manufacturing costs; the feasibility of devising, implementing and monitoring new rules of origin; and the interest of stakeholders in the U.S. and Colombia for making such changes, the notice said. The U.S.-Colombia TPA requires each government to provide preferential tariff treatment to goods that meet the agreement’s rules of origin -- which can be amended by the countries -- the notice said. Proposals are due May 13 and should indicate whether it has been discussed with industry representatives in Colombia, and those opinions of those representatives. Comments can be submitted to www.regulations.gov.

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk liberalized the designation of existing Qualifiying Industrial Zones in Egypt March 3, making all production facilities in the zones potentially eligible to export goods duty-free to the U.S. The six QIZs are Greater Cairo, Alexandria, the Suez Canal, the Central Delta, the Beni Suief and the Al Minya zones, a USTR press release said. The move will "increase opportunities for trade, investment and production" in those areas, the USTR said. Congress authorized the President to designate QIZs in 1996. The zones allow Egypt or Jordan to export products to the U.S. duty-free, as long as these products contain inputs from Israel, it said.