The Congressional Research Service has issued a report stating that the trade effects of the Andean Trade Preference Act/Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPA/ATPDEA) on the U.S. economy have been minimal, and some critics of the ATPA argue that trade preferences should not be extended.
The Congressional Research Service has issued a report stating that Congress may play an important role in a number of bilateral trade issues that have emerged between Vietnam and the U.S.
In the May 28-31, 2011 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union, the following trade-related notices were posted:
At a May 25, 2011 Senate Finance Committee hearing on the Panama Trade Promotion Agreement, the Administration reasserted its position that it will not submit the implementing legislation packages for the pending free trade agreements with Panama, Colombia, and Korea until it reaches an agreement with Congress on renewing Trade Adjustment Assistance legislation that is consistent with the 2009 expansion of TAA1.
The European Union issued the following trade-related releases on May 23, 2011:
During a May 16, 2011 conference call, the U.S. Trade Representative and other Administration officials stated that the Administration would not submit the implementing legislation packages for the pending free trade agreements with Korea, Colombia, and Panama until it has an agreement with Congress to renew Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) that is consistent with the objectives of the expanded 2009 version1.
Broker Power is providing readers with some of the top stories for May 9-13, 2011 in case they were missed last week.
At a May 12, 2011 House Agriculture Committee hearing, U.S. Trade Representative Kirk stated that the Administration has begun technical discussions on the draft implementing legislation for the three pending free trade agreements and noted that they could be approved by August, if Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) has already been passed. Kirk also discussed his plans to work with Korea on U.S. beef import access to the Korean market.
At a May 11, 2011 Senate Finance hearing, Chairman Baucus (D) stated that Congress must enact a long-term extension of Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) in tandem with the pending free trade agreements with Korea, Colombia, and Panama.
On May 10, 2011, the European Commission issued a proposal that would drastically revise the European Union’s Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) eligibility criteria, which may cause the number of countries receiving its GSP benefits to drop by half, from 176 countries and territories to 80. The EC is also proposing other modifications to the GSP+ program, graduation, procedures, etc.