On March 23, 2005, President Bush met with Canadian Prime Minister Martin and Mexican President Fox to announce the establishment of the "Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America" (SPP).
The Wall Street Journal reports that China will impose export duties from 0.2 yuan (2.4 U.S. cents) and 0.5 yuan per unit on textiles starting January 1, according to the International Business Daily, which is published by China's Ministry of Commerce. Subject items cover six categories of goods, including outerwear, dresses, pants, knitted and nonknitted blouses, sleepwear and underwear, according to the report. (WSJ, dated 12/27/04, www.wsj.com )
President Approves Continued AGOA Eligibility for 36 Countries, Adds Burkina Faso, Drops Ivory Coast
The White House has issued a press release stating that on December 21, 2004, President Bush approved the continued designation of the following 36 countries as eligible for tariff preferences under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA):
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports that China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have signed an agreement to create the world's biggest free-trade area, which aims to remove all tariffs by 2010 and is a critical step in their vision of creating an ASEAN Community trade bloc by 2020. (WSJ Pub 11/30/04, www.wsj.com)
On November 19, 2004, the Senate passed the conference version of H.R. 1047, the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004. The House passed the conference version of H.R. 1047 on October 8, 2004. The conference version of H.R. 1047 has now been cleared for the White House.
On November 19, 2004, the Senate passed the conference version of H.R. 1047, the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004. The House passed the conference version of H.R. 1047 on October 8, 2004. The conference version of H.R. 1047 has now been cleared for the White House.
On November 19, 2004, the Senate passed the conference version of H.R. 1047, the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act.
On February 26, 2004, the White House announced that in recognition of Libya's concrete steps toward repudiating weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and to build a foundation for Libya's economic growth and reintegration into the international community, the U.S. will take the following steps (partial list): (a) the restriction on the use of U.S. passports for travel to Libya has been rescinded; (b) the Treasury Department will issue a general license on February 26, 2004 for all travel-related expenditures in Libya; (c) U.S. companies with pre-sanctions holdings in Libya will be authorized as of February 26, 2004 to negotiate the terms of their re-entry into operations in Libya, subject to certain requirements; (d) etc. According to the White House announcement, as Libya continues to take steps that will lead to the dismantling of WMD and Missile Technology Control Regime- (MCTR)-class missiles programs and adheres to the renunciation of terrorism, the U.S. will continuously evaluate the range of bilateral sanctions that remain in place relating to Libya. (White House statement, dated 02/26/04, available at www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/02/print/20040226-1.html.)
The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS') Undersecretary testified before a House subcommittee that by January 5, 2004 U.S.-Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) was in operation at 115 airports and 14 seaports, covering 99% of all foreign visitors. While the Undersecretary stated that more than 600,000 foreign visitors have been processed under U.S.-VISIT without increasing wait times, the Journal of Commerce (JoC) reported that the implementation of the program at the 50 busiest land border crossings could slow down the flow of goods and people. US-VISIT is scheduled to be extended to these border crossings by December 31, 2004. (DHS Press Release 01/28/04, available via fax by emailing staff@brokerpower.com , JoC report www.joc.com)
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has announced that the U.S. and Bahrain were scheduled to launch negotiations on a free trade agreement on January 26, 2004 to lower tariffs and barriers and expand trade between the two countries. According to the press release, subsequent negotiation rounds will alternate between the U.S. and Bahrain with a goal of completing the negotiations by the end of 2004. (USTR press release dated 01/26/04, http://www.ustr.gov/releases/2004/01/04-05.pdf.)