U.S. Trade Representative (USTR)

The U.S. is considering reinstatement of tariffs on certain imports from the EU, in connection with alleged EU discrimination against U.S. beef exports, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a statement (here). An agreement signed by the EU and U.S. in 2009 to allow EU imports of non-hormone-treated U.S. beef “has not worked as intended,” USTR said in its statement (see 09050705). The agreement was renewed in 2013, and expired Aug. 2, 2015 (see 13102316). Before any trade action, USTR will examine the anticipated effectiveness of imposing tariffs and other possible actions, including against non-beef EU products, as well as the effects on the U.S. economy and consumers, USTR said (here).

The Obama administration on Dec. 15 filed a World Trade Organization challenge against China’s employment of tariff-rate quotas for rice, wheat and corn, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said (here). Chinese quotas for these commodities were valued at more than $7 billion last year, but USTR claims that China only filled about half the total value of its listed quotas. “China’s TRQ policies breach their WTO commitments and limit opportunities for U.S. farmers to export competitively priced, high-quality grains to customers in China,” U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said in a statement. USTR alleges that China’s administration of quotas for those products is “opaque” and “unpredictable,” and is inconsistent with China’s WTO Accession Protocol and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Although China annually announces the opening of tariff-rate quotas, its application criteria and procedures are unclear, and China doesn’t provide meaningful information on how it administers the quotas, USTR said.

NEW YORK -- Donald Trump's presidential election victory likely further reduces the chances for the approval of pending free trade agreements with Asia and Europe, trade policy experts said Nov. 9 at the Apparel Importers Trade and Transportation Conference. There also are some early indications as to who might head up trade policy under Trump, most of whom have a more "protectionist" bent, said David Spooner, a lawyer with Barnes & Thornburg who was assistant secretary of commerce for import administration under President George W. Bush. Still, the likely "chaos" from Trump's trade policy may also provide for new opportunities for positive change, he said.

The American Apparel and Footwear Association criticized the Alibaba Group's justification for why it hosts a great deal of counterfeit sales listings, in an Oct. 21 rebuttal (here) to earlier Alibaba comments filed in response to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s request for input on its 2016 Notorious Markets Report. Though AAFA commended Alibaba for filing comments reflecting public commitments and statements company executives made during the past year to crack down on counterfeiters’ use of its platforms, the trade group said Alibaba’s comments (here) amounted to a “so big it fails” defense, in justification of the high number of merchants and listings on its sites. “We patently reject that defense, particularly since Alibaba continues to expand its reach and has announced plans to grow even more,” wrote AAFA Executive Vice President Stephen Lamar in the rebuttal. “Citing its size as an obstacle to addressing a counterfeit problem it has enabled and unleashed is deeply troubling.”

ORLANDO – The U.S. government is considering how it would implement Trans-Pacific Partnership tariff phase-outs if the deal enters into force before ratification across all 12 parties, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Market Access and Industrial Competitiveness, Office of U.S. Trade Representative, Sushan Demirjian said Oct. 19 at the National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones annual conference. Under the deal, if the full group of parties doesn’t approve TPP by Feb. 3, 2018, any group of six countries that together comprise 85 percent of TPP by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) -- which mathematically must include the U.S. and Japan -- would have 60 days to complete their respective legal procedures to implement the agreement, at which point it would provisionally enter into force for only those ratifying nations. If that doesn't happen, the deal would enter into force 60 days after six parties that make up 85% of combined TPP GDP ratify it. Only ratifying countries will realize TPP benefits upon its entry into force.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is accepting public comments on India’s Sept. 9 request for World Trade Organization consultations over cited renewable energy subsidies and domestic content requirements dictated by the states of Washington, California, Montana, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Michigan, Delaware and Minnesota (see 1609120076), USTR said (here). USTR will accept comments anytime during dispute settlement, but comments should be in by Nov. 25 to ensure “timely consideration,” USTR said. India says the state programs are inconsistent with the WTO General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade of 1994, the Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures, the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, and the WTO-establishing Marrakesh Agreement.

The Obama administration requested the World Trade Organization establish a dispute settlement panel to review a case filed jointly with the EU alleging China unfairly leveled export constraints on 11 raw materials, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman announced (here). Those raw materials include antimony, chromium, cobalt, copper, graphite, indium, lead, magnesia, talc, tantalum and tin (see 1607190039). The U.S. and China held unsuccessful consultations on the matter Sept. 8-9, and the WTO Dispute Settlement Body will consider the U.S.’s request for a panel at its Oct. 26 meeting, USTR said. U.S. producers use the challenged materials in sectors including steel, automobiles, aerospace, construction and electronics, the USTR said. Some 90 percent of indium consumed in the U.S. is used in thin-film coating on flat-panel displays, it said. “China specifically committed to abide by fair, non-discriminatory access to raw materials when it joined the WTO,” Froman said. “We intend to hold them to that commitment to ensure that our workers and businesses get all the economic opportunities they’re entitled to under our trade agreements.” Because China is a leading global producer of those raw materials, export duties and quotas give the nation the ability to significantly affect global supply and pricing, USTR said. China committed as part of its 2001 WTO accession agreement to erase export duties for all products except those listed in a specific annex, which doesn’t contain the challenged materials, USTR said.

The Obama administration requested special World Trade Organization Dispute Settlement Body meetings to adopt the compliance panel report in the successful U.S. challenge of European subsidies for Airbus commercial aircraft (see 1609220032), and to adopt the panel and WTO Appellate Body reports in the winning U.S. challenge of Indian local content requirements for solar products (see 1609190043), the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said (here). The U.S. urged the EU to accept the panel’s findings in the Airbus case, and to work with the U.S. to eliminate all incompliant subsidies, USTR said, but the EU can still appeal the panel’s findings. The WTO will automatically adopt the panel and appellate body reports pertaining to the India case, because the U.S. request was issued within 30 days of circulation of the Appellate Body report, USTR said.

Competitive advantages that African Growth and Opportunity Act countries derive from U.S.-initiated tariff benefits may fade as more countries trend toward free trade agreements, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said during the AGOA Forum Sept. 26 (here). Sourcing decisions may also increasingly lean toward other considerations, such as reputational risk and ease of doing business, he said. Despite the benefits of AGOA, Froman noted that “only a handful” of beneficiaries fully utilize AGOA apparel provisions.

Legislation recently introduced by Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., would require the executive branch to publish U.S. negotiating positions on a public website after every discussion round, throughout all free trade agreement negotiations, including new and past U.S. proposals. Under the Promoting Transparency in Trade Act (H.R. 6141), if a presidential administration fails to provide such updates, the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees could initiate resolutions that, if passed, would nullify the president’s fast-track trade authorities, thereby blocking final U.S. approval of trade agreements. Currently, Trade Promotion Authority only requires the president to notify or consult with Congress regarding negotiation objectives at least 90 days before the initiation of FTA talks. The bill defines a “negotiating round” as a meeting to negotiate trade agreements with all parties to the deal.