EU Trade Minister Maros Sefcovic said that the EU "will need to translate key elements of the joint statement into legislative proposals," and that politicians have a "firm intention" to "present these legislative proposals and launch this process still this month."
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is requesting comments that identify markets for inclusion in the 2025 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy, it said in a notice to be published Aug. 18. The Notorious Markets List identifies online and physical markets that are reported to engage in or facilitate "substantial copyright piracy or trademark counterfeiting," the notice said. Comments also are being sought about the "issue focus" for the 2025 Notorious Markets List -- the "copyright piracy of sports broadcasts," the notice said. The deadline for submitting comments is Oct. 1. "Commenters should clearly identify potentially relevant markets and the reasons why the commenter believes a market should be included in the Notorious Markets List," the notice said.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is requesting comments on how China is complying with its World Trade Organization commitments, including in its import regulation, export regulation, subsidies, non-tariff barriers, intellectual property rights enforcement, rule of law issues, and trade facilitation, or other issues.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is setting FY 2026 country allocations for imports under tariff-rate quotas for cane sugar and refined sugars. The FY 2026 import TRQ for raw cane sugar was established at 1,117,195 metric tons raw value (MTRV), the minimum amount to which the U.S. is committed under the World Trade Organization (WTO) Uruguay Round Agreements. The USTR now allocates this TRQ among supplying countries and customs areas, as follows: Argentina 46,260; Australia 89,293; Barbados 7,531; Belize 11,834; Bolivia 8,606; Brazil 155,993; Colombia 25,819; Congo (Brazzaville) 7,258; Costa Rica 16,137; Cote d'Ivoire 7,258; Dominican Republic 189,343; Ecuador 11,834; El Salvador 27,971; Eswatini 17,213; Fiji 9,682; Gabon 7,258; Guatemala 51,639; Guyana 12,910; Haiti 7,258; Honduras 10,758; India 8,606; Jamaica 11,834; Madagascar 7,258; Malawi 10,758; Mauritius 12,910; Mexico 7,258; Mozambique 13,986; Panama 31,199; Papua New Guinea 7,258; Paraguay 7,258; Peru 44,108; Philippines 145,235; South Africa 24,744; St. Kitts & Nevis 7,258; Taiwan 12,910; Thailand 15,061; Trinidad-Tobago 7,531; Uruguay 7,258; Zimbabwe 12,910.
Asking other countries to open their markets to more exports from the U.S. is causing significant changes to how countries have historically conducted trade, according to speakers on Gibson Dunn's Aug. 8 webinar "U.S. Trade Policy: Navigating Uncharted Waters."
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that wrapping up remaining trade deals by October is "aspirational" in part because India has been "recalcitrant" during trade negotiations.
The American Apparel and Footwear Association thanked the Trump administration's suspension of higher tariff rates on China, but said the measure only keeps American companies and consumers "stuck in the same holding pattern" since President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs were announced.
The president's trade team has been suggesting that its definition of transshipment is different than what the word has traditionally meant -- that they will assign country of origin based on how much of the finished good was made from local inputs.
On Aug. 27, Indian goods that are currently subject to reciprocal tariffs will be tariffed at an additional 25%, on top of the 25% reciprocal tariff set to take effect Aug. 7, the White House announced.
Arun Venkataraman, the former assistant secretary of commerce for global markets, has joined Covington & Burling as a partner in the international trade practice, the firm announced. While at Commerce 2022-25, Venkataraman led efforts to "expand commercial opportunities for U.S. firms overseas and foreign firms in the United States," Covington said. In addition to his role as assistant secretary, Venkataraman served as director general of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service at the International Trade Administration. Prior to joining the Commerce Department, he worked at Visa as the senior director for global government engagement and at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative as director for India.