The Federal Maritime Commission has created a new Webpage on U.S. export issues. To assist the public in locating information on this topic and related matters, this page will be updated frequently to include a variety of documents, including Commission press releases, Congressional testimony, and Commission actions related to exports. (Notice, posted 03/19/10, available at http://www.fmc.gov/home/ExportIssues.asp)
The National Institute of Standards and Technology posts drafts and changes to foreign technical regulations for manufactured products which may be considered technical barriers to trade and are therefore required to be reported to the World Trade Organization, which distributes the information to WTO Member countries.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology posts drafts and changes to foreign technical regulations for manufactured products which may be considered technical barriers to trade and are therefore required to be reported to the World Trade Organization, which distributes the information to WTO Member countries.
World Trade Organization Director-General Lamy stated in a recent speech that failure on the Doha Round would spill over into other present and future cooperation efforts, and not only in the trade policy domain. He added that countries simply cannot go their own way and disregard the costs of neglecting international cooperation. (Speech, dated 03/18/10, available at http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/sppl_e/sppl150_e.htm)
U.S. Trade Representative negotiators have completed their third day of Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. Ten negotiating groups met, including industrial goods, agriculture, customs, rules of origin, government procurement, environment, and trade capacity building. TPP negotiators agreed to draft concept papers, exchange information, and undertake other work ahead of the second TPP negotiating round in June as part of their efforts to begin shaping a framework for the negotiation. (Notice, posted 03/17/10, available at http://www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/blog/2010/march/trans-pacific-partnership-negotiations-update-day-three)
The National Institute of Standards and Technology posts drafts and changes to foreign technical regulations for manufactured products which may be considered technical barriers to trade and are therefore required to be reported to the World Trade Organization, which distributes the information to WTO Member countries.
Brazil's Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC) has posted an English translation of the possible areas for retaliation against U.S. intellectual property rights and services, due to the U.S.' noncompliance in the World Trade Organization upland cotton dispute.1
The Department of Homeland Security will redeploy $50 million of Recovery Act funding originally allocated for the SBInet Block 1 to other tested, commercially available security technology along the Southwest border, including mobile surveillance, thermal imaging devices, ultra-light detection, backscatter units, mobile radios, cameras and laptops for pursuit vehicles, and remote video surveillance system enhancements. (Press release, dated 03/16/10, available at http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/pr_1268769368466.shtm)
China's Ministry of Commerce reports that China's Premier Wen Jiabao recently said China would keep the yuan exchange rate "basically stable" at an "appropriate and balanced level" this year, and that Commerce Minister Chen has said that China's exchange rate should not be politicized. (Notice, dated 03/11/10, available at http://english.mofcom.gov.cn/aarticle/counselorsreport/asiareport/201003/20100306815949.html)
On March 16, 2010, a bipartisan group of Senators introduced legislation to address currency misalignments that affect U.S. trade. The goal of the legislation is to penalize countries, such as China, that undervalue their currency to artificially discount their foreign products, which provides a trade advantage over U.S. products. The legislation is a combination of bills introduced in two previous congresses.