The U.S. Trade Representative is beginning reviews to consider designating Myanmar (Burma) and Laos as Generalized System of Preferences beneficiary developing countries. Myanmar had its GSP eligibility withdrawn in 1989 because of worker rights violations, while Laos has never been considered for eligibility for GSP benefits. USTR’s review will also address whether the countries should be designated as least-developed beneficiary developing countries under GSP.
The D.C. United States District Court dismissed a whistleblower's action against Staples, OfficeMax, Target, and Industries for the Blind for alleged false country of origin statements on entry documentation to avoid payment of antidumping duties on pencils from China. The anonymous whistleblower pursued the action under the False Claims Act, which allows private citizens to bring suit on behalf of the government over false or fraudulent claims for payment to the federal government. In return, the whistleblower receives a portion of the recovered funds. But to bring suit, the whistleblower must have inside information, unless he or she is the original source of public information. In this case, the whistleblower was neither.
New lobbyist registrations on trade issues include:
The European Union issued the following trade-related releases March 15-19 (notices of most significance will be given separate headlines)
CBP posted a document to its website that provides side-by-side comparisons of 20 U.S. free trade agreements and preferential trade programs. This updated version adds information from the U.S.-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement (PATPA), which was implemented in October (see 12103121).
The U.S. Trade Representative is seeking comments on potential changes to competitive need limitations under the Generalized System of Preferences program. Comments can be submitted on:
Aggressive intellectual property protection, reducing regulatory burdens and strengthening the Berry Amendment for domestic manufacturers outfitting U.S. military members are the 2013 priorities for the American Apparel and Footwear Association, CEO Kevin Burke told stakeholders at the group’s annual executive summit. He also encouraged association members to publicly promote the value of trade. “For far too long, trade has been viewed as having a negative impact on our economy; that trade results in job losses … The U.S. apparel and footwear industry is well-positioned to serve as the shining example of an industry that is able to thrive because of imports. Although nearly all of our product is sourced globally, our industry continues to sustain four million U.S. jobs.”
The International Trade Commission is publishing notices in the March 6 Federal Register on the following AD/CV injury, Section 337 patent, and other trade proceedings (any notices that warrant a more detailed summary will appear in another ITT article):
Following the withdrawal of most requests for Competitive Need Limitation waivers in the 2012 Generalized System of Preferences review, the International Trade Commission said it’s ending its investigations on the economic impact of the withdrawn CNL requests. The U.S. Trade Representative notified the ITC of the withdrawal of 11 out of 12 CNL requests originally included in the 2012 GSP review Feb. 21. All other aspects of the ITC’s GSP investigation remain unchanged, including the April 4 deadline for submission of the final report to USTR.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative scheduled a March 28 hearing on Generalized System of Preferences country practice reviews of labor practices and intellectual property rights in six countries, including Bangladesh, Georgia, Niger, the Philippines, Russia, and Uzbekistan. USTR also said it decided to close its country practice review on intellectual property rights in Lebanon based on the country’s progress on the issue, and deferred a deferred a decision on accepting a GSP country practice petition on Russia on expropriation.