The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is seeking comments by March 14 on the Jan. 10 U.S. request for World Trade Organization consultations with the government of Indonesia about measures Indonesia imposed on the import of horticultural products, animals and animal products, it said in a Federal Register notice scheduled for Feb. 19. The request is at www.wto.org, document WT/DS455/1. (See ITT's Online Archives 13011114).
The U.S. is “very disappointed” with Russia's decision to suspend, as of Feb. 11, all imports of U.S. meat, which is produced to the highest safety standards in the world, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Monday. They accused Russia of disregarding the “extensive and expert scientific studies” conducted by the international food safety standards body Codex Alimentarius Commission, which they said has consistently shown that animal feed containing the additive ractopamine is completely safe for livestock and the humans that consume their meat. Despite repeated U.S. requests to discuss the safety of ractopamine, Russia has “refused to engage in any constructive dialogue” and instead has simply barred the meats from import, they said. They urged Russia to reopen market access immediately and to abide by its WTO obligations.
Trade representatives from the U.S. and Egypt "made significant progress" in negotiations over establishing a new trade facilitation protocol and adopting core information communication and technology principles, said the Office of U.S. Trade Representative. It said they also committed to specific actions to cooperate on small-and medium-sized enterprise development, agriculture, standards, good regulatory practices and intellectual property rights protection.
The U.S. has requested World Trade Organization dispute settlement consultations with the government of India about domestic content requirements in India's national solar program, said U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk. The U.S. said India's program appears to discriminate against U.S. solar equipment by requiring solar energy producers to use Indian-manufactured solar cells and modules and by offering subsidies to those developers for using domestic equipment instead of imports. The forced localization requirements of India's national solar program restrict India's market to U.S. imports, USTR said. Consultations are the first step in the WTO dispute settlement process, and parties are encouraged to agree to a solution at this stage.
The U.S. and Japan agreed on new terms and conditions that pave the way for more exports of U.S. beef and beef products to Japan, said U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Monday. Under the agreement, which is effective Feb. 1, Japan will permit the import of beef from cattle less than 30 months old, compared to the previous limit of 20 months, among other things. The changes could mean hundreds of millions of dollars in exports of U.S. beef in coming years, they said. The pact also “goes a long way toward normalizing trade” by addressing long-term restrictions introduced by Japan in response to bovine spongiform encephalopathy. The governments also agreed to regular and ad hoc progress reviews.
U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk confirmed Jan. 22 that he intends to depart the position in late February, as he had indicated about a month ago. "It has been no less than my greatest professional privilege to serve President Barack Obama alongside the dedicated professionals of USTR," Kirk said (here).
The U.S. and Thailand agreed to expand cooperation on bilateral, regional, and multilateral issues in order to increase trade, during a two-day meeting under their Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) that ended Jan. 16. They also discussed advancing the U.S.-ASEAN Enhanced Economic Engagement Initiative announced by President Obama and the ASEAN Leaders last November, as well as ways to coordinate approaches in APEC and the WTO, said the Office of U.S. Trade Representative.
The U.S. agreed with Peru on a five-point action plan to support Peru's forestry sector reform efforts and its implementation of its obligations under the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement Annex on Forest Sector Governance, said the Office of U.S. Trade Representative after meetings last week in Lima. The agreement involves sustainable management of bigleaf mahogany and Spanish cedar, which are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Details of the action plan were to be included in the joint communique, which wasn't immediately available.
The U.S. is requesting consultations with Indonesia under the dispute settlement provisions of the World Trade Organization on trade-restrictive measures, said U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk. The U.S. said Indonesia created "a complex web of import licensing requirements" that unfairly restrict U.S. exports and appear to be designed to protect Indonesia's domestic agriculture industry.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative seeks comment by Jan. 31 on whether to recommend that duty-free treatment for imports from Bangladesh under the Generalized Systems of Preferences be withdrawn, suspended or limited because Bangladesh isn't taking steps to give workers internationally recognized worker rights, specifically the rights of association and to organize and bargain collectively.