The Senate Finance Committee has issued a press release announcing that Chairman Baucus reiterated to U.S. Trade Representative Schwab in a hearing that successful passage of Trade Adjustment Assistance legislation will take precedence in the Finance Committee over all pending free trade agreements. (Committee press release, dated 03/06/08, available at http://finance.senate.gov/press/Bpress/2008press/prb030608b.pdf)
U.S. Trade Representative (USTR)
The U.S. cabinet level position that oversees trade negotiations with other countries. USTR is part of the Executive Office of the President. It also administers Section 301 tariffs.
CNN Money reports that Toys "R" Us and Wal-Mart have recently announced new safety standards for their toy suppliers following a wave of recalls in 2007. Manufacturers for the large retailers will have to meet similar standards including significant reductions in lead content found in toy coatings, third-party testing of toys imported into the U.S., and prohibitions on infant products containing phthalates. (CNN Money, dated 02/15/08, available at http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/15/news/companies/toysafety_update/index.htm)
On December 14, 2007, the Senate passed its version of H.R. 2419, the Farm Bill Extension Act. The House passed its version of H.R. 2419 on July 27, 2007. According to the Library of Congress' Thomas Web site, the Senate has requested a conference with the House to resolve differences between the two versions. (See ITT's Online Archives or 07/31/07 news, 07073199 2, for BP summary on the House passage of H.R. 2419.) (Congressional Record, dated 12/14/07, available at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/B?r110:@FIELD(FLD003d)@FIELD(DDATE20071214).)
American Shipper reports that three Washington-based trade groups, which represent the policy and regulatory interests of U.S. exporters, have asked the Bureau of Industry and Security for a 30-day extension to provide comments for the agency's Commerce Control List review, for which the current deadline is September 17, 2007. (See ITT's Online Archives or 07/18/07 news, 07071830, for BP summary of BIS' request for comments on the CCL.)(American Shipper, dated 08/27/07, www.americanshipper.com)
Senators Max Baucus and Chuck Grassley have issued press releases praising the decision of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) to classify the U.S. as a "controlled risk" country with regard to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). In light of the findings, the Senators urged Korea, Japan and China to remove their restrictions on U.S. beef. (Press releases, 05/22/07, available at http://finance.senate.gov/press/Bpress/2007press/prb052207a.pdf and http://finance.senate.gov/press/Gpress/2007/prg052207a.pdf )
On July 29, 2006, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4, the Pension Protection Act of 2006. According to a Textile Development Memo (TDM) from the U.S. Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel (USA-ITA), H.R. 4 contains Dominican Republic-Central America-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) fixes, a continuation of the Wool Trust program, a "new shipper" provision, etc. See future issues of ITT for additional details on H.R. 4. (House Ways and Means Committee press release, dated 07/29/06, available at http://waysandmeans.house.gov/news.asp?formmode=release&id=419; USA-ITA TDM, dated 07/31/06, www.usita.com.)
According to the Washington File, the USTR has released its 2006 report of unfair trade barriers in foreign countries, called the National Trade Estimate on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE), where China is listed as having the most barriers, followed by the European Union, Japan, and South Korea. The article notes that most of the problems listed in the 2006 report are the same ones that have appeared in earlier reports. (Washington File (dated 03/31/06), available at http://usinfo.state.gov/eap/Archive/2006/Apr/02-251571.html )
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a press release announcing that on February 14, 2006, the USTR unveiled the results of a top-to-bottom review of U.S.-China trade policy at a news conference.
The Office of U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a press release stating that the World Trade Organization (WTO) Appellate Body has found in favor of the U.S. in a challenge of Mexico's antidumping (AD) duties on U.S. long grain white rice and several provisions of Mexico's trade laws. (USTR release, dated 11/29/05, available at http://www.ustr.gov/Document_Library/Press_Releases/2005/November/United_States_Wins_WTO_Challenge_Against_Mexican_Rice_Duties_Trade_Laws.html )
According the American Shipper, PierPass has said that members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) will hold a routine stop-work meeting from 5 p.m. Thursday through 3:00 a.m. Friday. As a result, there won't be PierPass truck gates at any terminals in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach during those hours. (ShippersNewsWire@americanshipper.com )