On Dec. 31-Jan. 1 the Foreign Agricultural Service posted the following GAIN reports:
The European Union issued the following trade-related releases Dec. 30-31 (notices of most significance will be given separate headlines):
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Dec. 16-20 in case they were missed.
Recent trade-related bills introduced in Congress include:
Senators Mark Begich, D-Alaska, and Roy Blunt, R-Mo., introduced on Dec. 17 the Generalized System of Preferences Update for Production Diversification and Trade Enhancement (UPDATE) Act (S-1839). The bill would remove “import sensitive” status for travel goods, such as luggage, backpacks and handbags, and enable those goods to enter the U.S. under Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) duty-free status, said the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) in a statement.
After Ministers of World Trade Organization (WTO) member states sealed a multilateral trade package on Dec. 7, a day later than the Bali summit was slated to conclude, U.S. political and industry leaders voiced widespread support. The package expedites customs procedure and reduces costs, shields food hoarding programs from legal dispute and institutes duty-free, quota-free access for least developed country export to wealthier markets, among other provisions, the WTO said (here). The package also delivers assistance to developing and least developed countries to update infrastructure and train customs officials, according to the WTO, adding that the package will increase trade flow and revenue through decreasing global trade costs by 10 percent to 15 percent. The world economic benefit may reach $1 trillion, said the WTO.
The Senate Armed Services Committee should reject a National Defense Authorization Act amendment that would require the Defense Department to source garments solely from a European-led manufacturing consortium formed to address labor conditions in Bangladesh, said Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., in a Dec. 2 letter (here). The amendment requires DoD to source garments only from companies that have signed the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, said Corker. Swedish retailer H&M spearheaded the creation of the accord and the deadline passed for company endorsement in May.
Certain Indonesian tin and Thai copper alloys, along with a host of other products currently eligible for duty free status in the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), are in jeopardy of being removed from the GSP system, due to excessive proportionate import, said the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). Should GSP eligible products from a specific country exceed 50 percent of total U.S. imports of that product, the product must be removed from GSP status, unless the president waives the competitive need limitations (CNLs).
The U.S. and Bangladesh signed on Nov. 25 an economic pact that provides an avenue to discuss actions needed to restore Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) status for Bangladesh, said a U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) spokeswoman. The Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (TICFA) builds off a Bangladesh GSP Action published by the administration in July, said the spokesman, which seeks to increase Bangladeshi government inspection of manufacturing facilities and improve freedom of association (here).
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Nov. 19-22 in case they were missed.