Five former Democratic National Committee chairmen urged lawmakers to back implementation legislation for the Trans-Pacific Partnership in an open letter released in recent days (here). Those former officials include Don Fowler, Paul Kirk, Ed Rendell, Roy Romer and David Wilhelm. A TPP pact will open critical new markets for U.S. exports and put in place regulatory requirements that benefit U.S. companies, said the letter. “The deal eliminates 18,000 foreign taxes on American goods and services — a huge step forward to ensuring that American businesses have a chance to play by the same rules as foreign businesses,” it said, repeating a common argument made by U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman since TPP negotiations wrapped up on Oct. 5.
Lawmakers introduced the following trade-related bills since International Trade Today's last legislative update:
Lawmakers introduced the following trade-related bills since International Trade Today's last legislative update:
The State Department is poised to upgrade Malaysia on its human trafficking scale in the 2015 annual report on the issue, according to a Reuters report released on July 8. The trafficking reports are typically issued in June, and the 2015 rendition is expected to surface soon. State is preparing to move Malaysia from Tier 3 to Tier 2 on the scale, said Reuters (here).
Lawmakers introduced the following trade-related bills since International Trade Today's last legislative update:
Lawmakers introduced the following trade-related bills since International Trade Today's last legislative update:
Lawmakers introduced the following trade-related bills since International Trade Today's last legislative update:
The Trans-Pacific Partnership is poised to fall far short of adequately addressing labor rights abuses in Mexico, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei, all of which are parties to Trans-Pacific Partnership talks, said the AFL-CIO in a scathing report released on Feb. 26 (here). To date, the U.S. is taking steps in the right direction by directing free trade agreement partners to honor the fundamental principles of the International Labor Organization by passing laws consistent with those principles, but U.S. FTAs don’t force partners to adopt ILO conventions.
The Labor Department updated its list of goods it believes to have been produced by child labor or forced labor to add two new goods (alcoholic beverages and meat), and one new country (Yemen), the agency said in a notice (here). The full report, including the updated list and a discussion of the list’s context, scope, methodology, and limitations, as well as frequently asked questions and a bibliography of sources, is available on the DOL website (here).
U.S. and Peruvian officials met in Lima on Oct. 17 to boost cooperation in combating labor rights violations, namely child and forced labor in Peru, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said in a statement. The two sides met to strengthen implementation of the U.S.-Peru free trade agreement, which went into force in 2009. The Oct. 17 meeting marks the second for the Labor Affairs Council, a working group created through the trade agreement. The U.S. and Peru aim to work together to “guarantee full implementation of the Labor Chapter” and, in particular, improve labor inspections in Peru, said the statement. Many members of the Obama administration, as well as their counterparts in the Peruvian government, attended the meeting, including Deputy Assistant USTR Carlos Romero.