GHY Tradelines

(USA Today)

Delivery trucks from Mexico line up early in the morning at the border crossing in Tijuana, where 20 million flat-screen TVs were manufactured last year. Traffic studies found cargo trucks, even empty ones, wait 90 minutes on average to cross into the USA as U.S. Customs agents check vehicles for contraband, and then spend at least an hour waiting to get back into Tijuana.

“Trucks that are a critical element of a competitive supply chain may spend three to four hours waiting in line during a day,” says Kenn Morris, president of the Crossborder Group, a San Diego consultancy, which commissioned the traffic studies. “These kinds of delays are both too typical and really strangle border economies … and put more barriers between what should be two strong economic partners.”

Improving on the way goods flow from Mexico to the USA is what President Enrique Peña Nieto intends to emphasize Thursday when President Obama visits Mexico City. […] U.S.-Mexican trade has risen as Mexico becomes an increasingly attractive locale for U.S. manufacturers that are seeing the cost to produce goods in China go up. Trade between Mexico and the USA topped $500 billion in 2012. Read more here.
 

(Richard Blackwell – Globe & Mail)

In an era focused on international free trade, it seems incongruous that Canada has so many internal barriers that impede movement of goods, services and people between provinces. That’s a situation that has to change if the country is going to stay competitive in a global marketplace, says Perrin Beatty, a former Conservative cabinet minister who is now president of The Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

Businesses are operating today in an intensely competitive global economy. It is important for them to have a market at home in which they can build their scale. We are a comparatively small economy to begin with, and if we Balkanize our economy and turn it into 13 regional ones, then it is much more difficult for Canadian companies to get the scale that they need to be able to be globally competitive.

Also, from the perspective of Canadian consumers and customers of businesses, it limits choice and drives up costs. Read more here.
 

(Global Post)

Indonesia has eased restrictions on some agricultural imports after the United States complained to the World Trade Organization over Jakarta’s “opaque and complex” rules, the trade ministry said.

The U.S. first raised the issue with the trade body in January, citing Indonesia’s “broad use of import licensing measures that restrict imports” on a range of agricultural products. It criticized the licensing system, which came into force last year, as “opaque and complex”, saying it was inconsistent with Indonesia’s WTO obligations and was having an impact on U.S. exports to the country. Read more here.
 

(Reuters – Tom Miles)

The United States launched a blistering attack on fellow World Trade Organization member states on Thursday for failing to do more to cut global barriers to trade, criticizing India in particular for trying to introduce a “massive new loophole”.

“The time has come to speak bluntly,” U.S. ambassador Michael Punke told his counterparts at the Geneva-based body. “We must not sit idly by as the WTO’s negotiating function hurtles towards irrelevance.”

Ambassadors to the 159-member WTO were meeting to review progress towards a possible deal to be signed in Bali in December, which would cut red tape from customs procedures, adding as much as $1 trillion to global trade. Read more here.
 

(CBC News)

Russia is set to impose new restrictions on its meat imports next week, a move that is being watched closely by pork and cattle producers in Canada.

The guidelines, which will be unveiled Monday, are expected to be related to concerns over the use of the feed additive ractopamine in livestock. Since December, Russia has restricted the import of Canadian meats that contain this additive and are anticipated to tighten these regulations further. Read more here.
 

(Ian Mount – beyondbrics)

Argentina is probably getting very tired of hearing the words “WTO complaint.”

On Monday, Mexico became the fourth country in three months to file a complaint about Argentine import restrictions with the world trade body.

The Mexican complaint said that new Argentine import rules, “restrict the imports of goods and discriminate between national and imported goods,” and that these rules, “don’t seem to be related with the implementation of any measure justified under the WTO Agreement.” Previously, the European Union, Japan, and the United States filed similar complaints.

“The government of Mexico reiterates its deep worry over the protectionist measures that Argentina is applying, as well as practices that lack transparency and affect trade between our two nations and generate uncertainty,” Mexico’s Economy Ministry said in a statement quoted by Reuters. Read more here.
 

(Anatoly Medetsky – The Moscow Times)

Now that its part of the WTO, the Russian government will move to knock down trade barriers on exports, an Economic Development Ministry official said Thursday.

The ministry has a “black list” of Russia’s trade partners that restrict imports from the country and will seek to remove any unfair constraints, Yekaterina Mayorova, deputy director of the Economic Development Ministry’s department of trade negotiations, said at a news conference.

She spoke a day after Russia joined the Word Trade Organization, which serves as a global trade arbiter.

The ministry has estimated that Russian companies lost up to $2 billion annually in potential sales thanks to those restrictions. It counted 72 protective measures — chiefly antidumping import duties and tariff quotas — against Russian goods in a report released in April.

“We do have a sort of a black list of our trade partners that apply against us various restrictions and discriminatory measures that don’t comply with WTO rules,” she said. “These measures vary on how painful they are for our producers, and we will no doubt fight them.” Read more here.
 

(Tax-News.com – Mike Godfrey)

On August 21, 2012, Japan and the United States separately notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) of a request for consultations with Argentina on alleged import restrictions caused by a system of non-automatic import licensing and other related measures.

According to both Japan and the US, “these measures restrict imports of goods and discriminate between imported and domestic goods”. The measures, according to both complainants, “do not appear to be related to the implementation of any measure justified under the WTO Agreement”.

As confirmed by the United States Trade Representative (USTR) Ron Kirk, the Argentinean measures under dispute include the broad use of non-transparent import licensing requirements that have the effect of unfairly restricting US exports. “Argentina’s protectionist measures adversely affect a broad segment of US industry, which exports billions of dollars in goods each year to Argentina. These exports support jobs and businesses here at home,” he said. Read more here.
 

(STR Trade Report)

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is seeking input by Oct. 15 for its annual national trade estimate report on foreign trade barriers. Comments may be submitted with respect to one or more of the following categories of trade barriers.

1. import policies (e.g., tariffs and other import charges, quotas, import licensing and customs barriers);
2. government procurement restrictions (e.g., “buy national” policies and closed bidding);
3. export subsidies (e.g., export financing on preferential terms and agricultural export subsidies that displace U.S. exports in third country markets);
4. lack of intellectual property rights protection (e.g., inadequate patent, copyright and trademark regimes);
5. services barriers (e.g., limits on the range of financial services offered by foreign financial institutions, regulation of international data flows, restrictions on the use of data processing, quotas on imports of foreign films, and barriers to the provision of services by professionals);
6. investment barriers (e.g., limitations on foreign equity participation and on access to foreign government-funded research and development consortia; local content, technology transfer and export performance requirements; and restrictions on repatriation of earnings, capital, fees and royalties);
7. anticompetitive conduct of state-owned or private firms tolerated by foreign governments that restricts the sale or purchase of U.S. goods or services in the foreign country’s markets;
8. trade restrictions affecting e-commerce (e.g., tariff and non-tariff measures, burdensome and discriminatory regulations and standards, and discriminatory taxation);
9. other barriers, including barriers that encompass more than one category such as bribery and corruption, or that affect a single sector;

The USTR is particularly interested in practices that may violate U.S. trade agreements as well as information on new barriers and new or updated information pertaining to the barriers covered in its 2012 NTE report.
 

(Globe & Mail Editorial)

An arresting paper this month, written by Carleton University’s Michael Hart and published by the C.D. Howe Institute, makes a compelling argument: that the worldwide phenomenon of “value chains” may call for a lessened emphasis in international trade policy on give-and-take negotiations between nation-states, and for more unilateral giving up of self-defeating trade barriers and retaliatory measures.

Many observers and scholars have drawn attention to the enormous shift in international trade, from the purchase and sale of finished products to the purchase and sale of parts and components. The consequence is that the supposed national origin of a specific traded good has become a dubious, ghostly concept. Instead, most finished goods are the result of complex “chains” in which value is added in many countries. But comparatively few trade commentators have tried to deal with the policy implications of this change, as Professor Hart has done. Read more here.
 

(Bridges Weekly)

Beijing’s trade policies came under detailed scrutiny at the WTO last week, as the global trade body conducted its biennial review of one of its largest traders. While the 240-page report by the WTO secretariat praised the Asian country for its economic achievements during its transition to a market-based economy, it also repeated earlier calls for better transparency and questioned measures aimed at restricting exports – concerns reiterated by some WTO members, such as the EU and U.S.

The secretariat found that, in the two years under review, China had adopted few measures to liberalise trade and investment. In addition, though Beijing – like many other WTO members – had “resisted a trade-restrictive response overall to the effects of the global economic crisis,” it had also adopted in various instances measures that “restrict or may restrict trade,” notably in the area of exports.

While there had been improvements in the area of transparency, various aspects of China’s trade and investment policy regime “remain complex and opaque, leaving scope for administrative discretion and corruption,” the WTO report noted. Read more here.
 

(Colombia Reports)

Canada accused Colombia of failing to implement a duty free system agreed upon between the two countries. According to a report by Colombian financial newspaper Portafolio, Canadian trade officials complained that their Colombian counterparts failed to issue duty-free-licenses to Canadian exporters for 2011. As a result more than 14,000 tons of imported Canadian beef, pork, and beans were subject to tariffs in the last year. The licenses were part of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries, which went into effect last year.

Canadian officials found fault with the Colombian Customs Office and said 2011’s un-issued duty-free-licenses should be added to the 2012 licenses. Former Colombian trade official Ricardo Duarte said rolling over the licenses was not possible. According to Duarte, FTA rules prohibit license accumulation to avoid hurting domestic economies. Read more here.
 

(Bloomberg – Jim Brunsden)

The European Commission will present proposals tomorrow that would empower the region’s authorities to ban companies from outside the EU from bidding for public procurement contracts in Europe.

The powers, part of plans to boost the 27-nation bloc’s arsenal against trade discrimination, could be used if other countries don’t grant equivalent market access to European businesses, Olivier Bailly, a spokesman for the regulator, said today in Brussels. Read more here.
 

(The Moscow Times)

The Obama administration should establish normal trade relations with Russia to help companies compete in one of the world’s fastest-growing markets, said Ronald Pollett, president of General Electric’s Russian unit.

Taking such a step would also help the United States resolve trade disputes with Russia through the World Trade Organization, Pollett said late last week in an interview after testifying before the Senate Finance Committee in Washington.

“It’s one of the fastest-growing emerging markets,” Pollett said. “We’re very interested in the oil and gas market, the energy market, the transportation market — which is locomotives, aviation and health care. Those are our five big opportunities over there.”

The Senate might take up legislation “within a couple of months” repealing the 1974 Jackson-Vanik law preventing the United States from granting permanent normal trade relations, Senator Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat and committee chairman, said in an interview. Read more here.
 

(European Commission)

The European Commission today published its second Trade and Investment Barriers Report, which describes the progress achieved in dismantling barriers to the markets of six strategic economic partners – China, India, Japan, Mercosur, Russia and the US. The report recognises some success stories in the removal of certain trade barriers, such as in India, but also underlines the overall persistence of barriers for European business to access key markets. Dismantling these barriers would improve and open up new export and investment opportunities for European companies and people. The report will be presented to the European Council on 1-2 March.

“With protectionism an ever present threat, we need to make sure that trade remains open in order to boost jobs and growth. Today’s report shows that our enforcement strategy is paying off in fighting unfair barriers to trade and investment; yet, we need to strengthen our vigilance and double our efforts in order to make sure that openness is maintained worldwide. The EU’s commitment to ensuring trade openness remains firm”, stated EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht. Read more here.
 

According to the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology, the user fee for inspections of fresh fruits and vegetables proposed by the Canadian government has been identified as a restrictive measure that could negatively affect U.S exports.

(World Trade Interactive)

On behalf of the High Level Working Group on Jobs and Growth established by the U.S. and the European Union at their November 2011 summit, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is inviting public comments by Feb. 3 on the following issues.

• conventional barriers to trade in goods, such as tariffs and tariff-rate quotas
• reduction, elimination or prevention of barriers to trade in goods, services and investment
• opportunities for enhancing the compatibility of regulations and standards
• reduction, elimination or prevention of unnecessary “behind the border” non-tariff barriers to
trade in all categories
• enhanced cooperation for the development of rules and principles on global issues of common concern and for the achievement of shared economic goals relating to third countries

For each option or proposal that is suggested, submissions should seek to assess the short- and medium-term impact on economic growth, job creation and competitiveness; feasibility; and implications for, and consistency with, bilateral and multilateral trade obligations. Read more here.

(World Trade Interactive)

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is inviting written comments by noon on Jan. 13, 2012, on the interest expressed by Japan, Canada and Mexico in potentially joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations. USTR is assessing this interest in light of the TPP’s high standards for liberalizing trade and specific issues of concern to the U.S. regarding barriers to agriculture, services and manufacturing trade, including non-tariff measures, in these countries. USTR is particularly interested in the following issues.

• economic costs and benefits to U.S. producers and consumers of eliminating tariffs and eliminating or reducing non-tariff barriers on goods and services traded with these countries

• treatment by these countries of specific goods (described by HTSUS numbers), including product-specific import or export interests or barriers

• adequacy of existing customs measures to ensure that only qualifying imported goods from these countries receive preferential treatment, as well as appropriate rules of origin for goods entering the U.S.

• sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade and/or barriers to trade in services that should be addressed

• relevant issues concerning electronic commerce, trade-related intellectual property rights, investment, competition, government procurement, environment, labor, transparency, innovation and competitiveness, new technologies and emerging economic sectors, the participation of small and medium-sized businesses in trade, and the development of efficient production and supply chains.

(Doug Palmer — Reuters)

The United States and European Union agreed Tuesday to reduce red tape related to cargo security and pledged to work toward tearing down tariffs and regulatory barriers between the world’s largest trading partners.

“The leaders have asked to look at all aspects of our relationship and see what we can do to strengthen our economic ties and support good jobs and growth on both sides of the Atlantic,” White House international economics adviser Michael Froman told reporters at the end of the annual U.S.-EU Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC).

Those options range from simply expanding the TEC into new areas to negotiating a full-fledged free trade agreement, Froman said at the joint news conference with European Union Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht.

“Everything is on the table, from tariffs to non-tariff barriers to enhanced regulatory cooperation,” Froman said. Read more here.
 

(Agence France-Presse)

Asia-Pacific leaders representing more than half of the global economy have committed to cutting tariffs on environmental goods to no more than 5% and reducing energy intensity.  In a joint statement after a summit in Hawaii, leaders of the APEC bloc – which includes the United States and China – said they would also eliminate non-tariff barriers that impede trade in green products.

“Taking these concrete actions will help our businesses and citizens access important environmental technologies at lower costs, which in turn will facilitate their use, contributing significantly to APEC’s sustainable development goals,” the statement said. Read more here.