The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative wants input on the operation, effectiveness and implementation of, and compliance with, the following agreements regarding telecommunications products and services of the U.S.: The World Trade Organization General Agreement on Trade in Services; North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA); U.S. free trade agreements with Australia, Bahrain, Chile, Colombia, Korea, Morocco, Oman, Panama, Peru and Singapore; Dominican Republic-Central America-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA); and any other telecom trade agreements, such as mutual recognition agreements for conformity assessment of telecommunications equipment.

The inaugural meeting of the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Commission (FTC), held Nov. 19, concluded that the six-month-old Free Trade Agreement is working well and is already benefiting both countries, the U.S. Trade Representative said. U.S. exports to Colombia from May to Sept. were up more than 20 percent over the corresponding period last year, it said. The governments decided to consider tariff acceleration and to set time frames for establishing dispute settlement mechanisms and updating rules of origin. They also reviewed the work of committees set up to discuss technical barriers to trade, agriculture, and sanitary and phytosanitary measures.

Trade negotiations have to adjust as Internet-enabled communication technologies develop, said Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Telecommunications and Electronic Commerce Policy Jonathan McHale Monday. Speaking at an event hosted by the Federal Communications Bar Association, McHale said the USTR is beginning to approach trade negotiations through the lens of emerging technology and is considering restarting World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations with the same perspective.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said import statistics are available for the first eight months of 2012 relating to competitive need limitations (CNLs) under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program. The statistics identify some articles for which the 2012 trade levels may exceed statutory CNLs, it said in a Federal Register notice scheduled for Nov. 6. USTR said parties may want to use the information in deciding whether to submit a petition to waive the CNLs for individual beneficiary developing countries (BDCs) with respect to specific GSP-eligible articles. The deadline for submitting product petitions to waive the CNLs for individual BDCs with respect to GSP-eligible articles is 5 p.m., Nov. 21. The interim import statistics for the first eight months of 2012 relating to CNLs are (here). Full calendar-year 2012 data for individual tariff subheadings will be available in February 2013 at http://dataweb.usitc.gov/. USTR said the following products met the criteria to be placed on the list:

Soybean farmers have a vested interest in seeing barriers to transatlantic trade reduced, the American Soybean Association said in comments to the U.S. Trade Representative. Barriers, such as the European Union’s discriminatory biotech labeling requirements and renewable energy standards, have had a significantly negative impact on soybean exports to the EU in recent years, with a 44 percent decline in the value of EU-bound exports between 1998 and 2011, and a 70 percent drop in export volume during the same period, the ASA said.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is seeking comments on its annual Reports on Sanitary and Phytosanitary and Technical Barriers to Trade. It said the comments are to assist it in identifying significant sanitary and phytosanitary and standards-related barriers to U.S. exports of goods, for inclusion in these two reports.

The Office of U.S. Trade Representative issued its list of eligible goods and services from Panama eligible for a Waiver of Discriminatory Purchasing Requirements under Trade Agreements Act of 1979, as a result of the U.S.-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement, which takes effect Oct. 31.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said the tariff-rate quotas (TRQ) for sugar established by the United States-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement will be administered using certificates, effective Oct. 31.

Members of the U.S. Council for International Business continue to have on-going concerns with China's compliance with its World Trade Organization commitments in horizontal areas (antidumping, certification, licensing, IPR, government procurement, market access, regulatory environment, standards, SOEs and taxation), sector specific concerns (ag bio, audiovisual, chemicals, customs, electronic payments, express delivery, pharma, software, telecommunications) and in such areas as certification licensing and testing requirements, USCIB said in its 2012 statement to U.S. Trade Representative on China's compliance with its WTO commitments, following an earlier Federal Register notice. (See ITT's Online Archives 12101028).

The Office of U.S. Trade Representative and the East African Community (EAC) issued a statement Oct. 19 saying they have taken important steps to advance the U.S.-EAC Trade and Investment Partnership, which they said enhances the U.S.-EAC trade and investment relationship. They said they agreed on a framework to move forward on the establishment of a Commercial Dialogue, which will be formally launched in late November.