GHY Tradelines

(STR Trade Report)

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has released its annual Special 301 report on the adequacy and effectiveness of U.S. trading partners’ protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights. USTR reviewed 95 trading partners for the 2013 report and listed 41 of them as meriting particular concern. According to USTR, this report identifies a wide range of concerns, including the continued deterioration in IPR protection, enforcement and market access in Ukraine; the growing problem of misappropriation of trade secrets in China and elsewhere; indigenous innovation policies in China; and the continuing challenges of copyright piracy over the Internet in countries such as Brazil, Italy and Russia. Read more here.
 

(Lynne Taylor – Pharma Times)

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) says it is “dismayed” at the response of the US Trade Representative (USTR)’s latest annual report on intellectual property rights (IPR) protection to the “deteriorating protections for patented medicines” in India.

The USTR’s latest Special 301 Report, which assesses the adequacy and effectiveness of US trading partners’ protection and enforcement of IPR and of market access, is critical of India and retains it on its Priority Watch List. In 2012, India made “limited progress in improving its weak IPR legal framework and enforcement system,” it says, but adds that recent actions by the government “have raised serious questions about the innovation climate in India and risk hindering the country’s progress towards an innovation-focused economy.” Read more here.
 

(Journal of Commerce)

President Barack Obama today said he will nominate Michael Froman to serve as U.S. Trade Representative. The pick was welcomed by business groups, Politico reports.

Peter M. Robinson, president and CEO of the United States Council for International Business, praised the selection of Froman. “This is an excellent choice,” he said. “Michael Froman has been a positive force for trade within the Obama administration, and is well respected in the business community. His nomination could not come at a better time, as the U.S. begins trade and investment talks with the European Union and pursues the Trans-Pacific Partnership.” Read more here.
 

(BJ Siekierski – iPolitics)

In recognition of its “significant progress on copyright issues”, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has pulled Canada off its list of countries with the worst intellectual property regimes, but warned that more work still needs to be done.

On Wednesday the USTR released its annual “Special 301 Report”, which assesses the adequacy of all its trading partners’ intellectual property protection.

For the last four years Canada has found itself on the report’s “Priority Watch List,” with countries such as Russia and China.

However, that changed in the 2013 report, which saw it incrementally upgraded to the “Watch List.” Read more here.
 

(AFP)

US trade representative says it can agree that food security is a valid issue to be dealt with under the WTO talks

The US on Tuesday gave some ground on the contentious issue of food security in world trade talks in hopes of gaining at least some progress toward a limited new World Trade Organization (WTO) pact this year.

The US trade representative, which has been pressing for freer trade in food in hopes of boosting US exports, said it could agree that food security is a valid issue to be dealt with under the WTO talks.

The issue, which had put especially the US and India at loggerheads, has threatened to stymie the negotiations toward even a limited new WTO pact targeted for December’s WTO ministerial meeting in Bali. Read more here.
 

(Mike Palmedo – Infojustice.org)

Pressure on Capitol Hill for Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) is growing.

TPA – called “fasttrack” in the 1990s when it was used to negotiate NAFTA – allows the executive branch to negotiate trade agreements that Congress cannot amend during the ratification process.  It also sets procedural rules under which trade agreements are negotiated, and the objectives of the United States for the outcomes of trade negotiations.

At last week’s Senate Finance Committee hearings on the Trans Pacific Partnership, Chairman Max Baucus said that he “would like to see a bipartisan TPA [Trade Promotion Authority] bill introduced by June.” [...]

TPA was last granted to the executive branch in the Trade Act of 2002, but the authority expired in 2007. The Trade Act of 2002 included specific negotiating objectives for USTR for each section of trade agreements, including intellectual property.  Assuming the upcoming TPA legislation is structured the same way as the expired TPA, this presents an opportunity for public interest IP advocates to weigh in on what USTR’s goals should be when it tables text for future agreements. Read more here.
 

(STR Trade Report)

U.S. federal agencies are preparing for negotiations on a free trade agreement with the European Union that could begin as early as June. Interested businesses have several upcoming opportunities to raise specific issues in the context of these negotiations.

The International Trade Commission launched April 17 an investigation of the probable economic effect of duty-free imports under the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. The ITC will also evaluate the probable economic effect of eliminating tariffs on certain EU agricultural products (see below for link to complete list) on U.S. industries producing those goods as well as the U.S. economy as a whole. The ITC expects to submit its confidential report to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative by Sept. 26.

The ITC will hold a public hearing in connection with this investigation on June 5, and requests to appear at this hearing are due no later than May 16. The ITC is also inviting written submissions for the record no later than June 18.

As previously reported, USTR is conducting its own inquiry into U.S. interests and priorities in the TTIP to help it develop negotiating positions. Less than 30 days remain to meet the May 10 deadline for businesses to submit input to USTR on the reduction or elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers, specific concessions that should be sought, and various other issues. May 10 is also the deadline for requests to present testimony at USTR hearings to be held May 29 and 30.

To learn how the TTIP could affect your company and what steps you can take to impact the final outcome, contact Nicole Bivens Collinson in ST&R’s Washington, D.C., office at 202-730-4956.
 

(STR Trade Report)

The fiscal year 2014 budget proposal released by President Obama this week includes funding increases for many federal agencies with trade-related responsibilities.

Commerce

- $520 million (up $64 million from FY 2012) for the International Trade Administration to support the National Export Initiative, including $22 million for the Interagency Trade Enforcement Center and $20 million to support implementation of the SelectUSA program, which encourages foreign direct investment in the U.S.

- $12 million for the Economic Development Administration to create a Regional Export Challenge, a competitive grant program that will support U.S. regions that develop and implement sustainable export action plans to proactively identify and support firms and sectors with the greatest export potential

- $112 million (up $11 million) for the Bureau of Industry and Security to support ongoing work under the Export Control Reform Initiative, including an additional $8.3 million for expanded export licensing and enforcement operations as controlled items shift from State Department jurisdiction

- the expansion of export control officers to Germany (covering Europe), Turkey (covering Malta, Cyprus, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and Israel) and the United Arab Emirates (covering Pakistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Yemen)

- organizational changes such as focusing on higher priority enforcement and compliance activities such as antidumping and countervailing duty casework and ITEC; reducing the number of Global Markets specialists who combat non-tariff barriers in customs, standards and transparency in markets that are not priorities or have a limited return on investment; and consolidating GM staff to cover priority markets such as free trade agreement partners, emerging markets such as China and India, and next tier markets such as Turkey and Indonesia

CBP

- $12.9 billion for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, including $221 million for 1,600 new CBP officers and mobile equipment to speed the processing and inspection of passengers and cargo at U.S. ports of entry

- $3.3 million for the automation and centralization of CBP processing of all single transaction bonds

- increases in customs inspection user fees

- transfer of land border port of entry facilities from the General Services Administration to CBP

FDA

- an additional $295.8 million to bolster the Food and Drug Administration’s food safety efforts, primarily through implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act

- new user fees for food facility registration and inspection, food importers, and cosmetics and food contact substance notifications

- a $10 million increase for FDA efforts to detect and address the risks of food and medical products and ingredients manufactured in foreign countries

Other Trade Agencies

- $85.1 million for the International Trade Commission (up $5.1 million)

- $56.2 million for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (up $5 million)

- $117 million for the Consumer Product Safety Commission (up $2 million)

- $25 million for the Federal Maritime Commission (up $1 million)

(STR Trade Report)

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is gathering public input on the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement with the European Union, including U.S. interests and priorities, to help it develop U.S. negotiating positions. Written comments are due no later than May 10 and a hearing will be held May 29-30 in Washington, D.C. USTR has also asked the International Trade Commission to evaluate the probable economic effects of the TTIP, and an announcement on the initiation of that investigation is expected soon.

Comments submitted to USTR may address the reduction or elimination of tariffs or non-tariff barriers on any articles provided for in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States that are products of the EU, any concession that should be sought by the U.S. or any other matter relevant to the proposed agreement. Read more here.
 

(STR Trade Report)

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative indicated in a March 13 press release that the 11 countries that are currently involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations achieved significant progress at the 16th round of talks held this month in Singapore. The USTR noted that the parties achieved the goal of putting the negotiations “on an accelerated track toward conclusion of a next-generation, comprehensive agreement in the 2013 time frame envisioned by President Obama and the Leaders of the ten other TPP countries.”

According to U.S. Chief Negotiator and Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Barbara Weisel, TPP negotiators intensified their drive at the Singapore round to “find mutually-acceptable paths forward on the remaining issues in the legal texts of the agreement” and “succeeded in finding solutions to many issues in a wide range of areas such as customs, telecommunications, investment, services, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, intellectual property, regulatory coherence, development, and other issues.” As a result of this progress, the negotiating groups on customs, telecommunications, regulatory coherence and development will not meet again to discuss the legal texts. Instead, any remaining work in these areas will be addressed in late-stage rounds as the agreement is finalized. According to the USTR, this will enable negotiators to focus on tough issues in the areas of intellectual property, competition and the environment.

The parties also advanced the negotiations in the areas of market access for goods, services and investment, and government procurement. According to the USTR, “productive exchanges occurred on tariff packages on industrial goods, agriculture, and textiles, as well as on rules of origin and how best to promote the development of regional supply chains in order to benefit companies based in the United States and the other TPP countries.” The parties also agreed to conduct additional intersessional work to build on market access advances.

The TPP trade ministers are scheduled to meet in mid-April on the margins of the APEC Trade Ministers meeting in Indonesia to discuss progress achieved to date and provide further guidance to negotiators. The 17th round of talks will be held in Lima, Peru, on May 15-24. The USTR indicates that high-level officials will become more engaged in the process as the discussions draw to a close.
 

(STR Trade Report)

The Interagency Trade Policy Group held a public hearing March 12 on the U.S. negotiating objectives for the recently-announced International Services Agreement, an effort by the United States and 20 other trading partners to achieve an ambitious plurilateral deal that eliminates or reduces barriers to services traded either on a cross-border basis or through a foreign commercial presence. The ISA negotiations should begin in early spring and will initially include Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the European Union, Hong Kong, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Switzerland, Taiwan and Turkey. This group represents nearly two-thirds of global trade in services and could expand as negotiations progress.

Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Services Christopher P. Melly indicated at the hearing that the USTR has received nearly 50 written submissions on the ISA, in addition to the 12 witnesses representing a broad range of interests who testified at the hearing. He added that U.S. objectives for the agreement include ensuring that U.S. service suppliers can compete on the basis of quality and competence rather than nationality; securing greater regulatory transparency and predictability from U.S. trading partners; and addressing new issues arising in the global marketplace. “Our overarching goal is to create an environment that enables our service suppliers to do what they do best, anywhere in the world,” said Melly. Witnesses at the hearing included, among others, the U.S. Coalition of Service Industries, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO. Issues raised at the hearing included enhanced market access and national treatment, cross-border data flows, state-owned enterprises, and regulatory barriers and regulatory discretion.
 

(STR Trade Report)

The Obama administration delivered to Congress March 1 its 2013 Trade Policy Agenda and 2012 Annual Report. This document continues the administration’s focus on policies that will increase U.S. exports, such as seeking to “create and defend open markets” and “challenging unfair trade practices and enforcing U.S. trade rights under our agreements.” Priority issues for 2013 will include the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the European Union, and efforts within the World Trade Organization on trade facilitation, information technology and services. The administration also plans to “work with Congress on trade promotion authority” to facilitate the conclusion, approval and implementation of “market-opening negotiating efforts.”

The report highlights plans to continue or initiate numerous efforts, including the following.

National Export Initiative. The agenda asserts that overall U.S. exports of goods and services have increased by more than 39% from 2009, supporting one million additional domestic jobs. This is behind the pace needed to meet the NEI’s original goal of doubling U.S. exports by the end of 2014 “in support of up to two million additional U.S. jobs.” In 2013 efforts to advance the NEI will include the Export Promotion Cabinet coordinating through the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee the launch of initiatives including a national marketing campaign targeting small and medium-sized exporters, an expanded Export University Program, the “Global Business Solutions” trade financing packaging that will work with community banks to expand the U.S. financial infrastructure offering trade-related products, commercial statecraft training for foreign service officers, and public-private partnerships that will deliver commercial services for U.S. businesses overseas.

TPP. The U.S. seeks “an ambitious conclusion” to the TPP negotiations and along with its partners is “working diligently” to try to complete the talks in 2013.

TTIP. The report notes the president’s intent to launch TTIP negotiations with the EU but gives no further details on when they might begin or how long they might last.
Read more »

(STR Trade Report)

A draft letter expected to be finalized this week indicates that the House Ways and Means Committee and its Trade Subcommittee anticipate handling a wide range of international trade issues in the 113th Congress, which extends through 2014. The letter indicates that hearings and other oversight-related activities are planned on the following topics but that priorities and concerns may change over time.

- trade promotion authority, which would allow the president to negotiate and conclude trade agreements in consultation with Congress and provide a clear framework for congressional consideration and implementation of those agreements

- the miscellaneous trade bill, which would eliminate or reduce import duties on products not made in the U.S.

- systemic problems in U.S.-China trade relations, including issues related to intellectual property rights protection, indigenous innovation requirements, use of industrial subsides, export restraints on key products such as rare earth minerals, and currency undervaluation

- customs re-authorization legislation, with a particular emphasis on streamlining and facilitating legitimate and compliant trade at the border, automating U.S. Customs and Border Protection processes and improving enforcement
Read more »

(GlobalPost)

U.S. and European Union negotiators made some headway Wednesday toward a trans-Atlantic free trade pact, a person close to the talks told AFP.

“Good progress has been made,” the source said after EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht met with U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk. “The discussions centered around the potential free-trade agreement between the EU and the U.S.”

A free-trade pact between the two sides has been envisaged for years, but little real movement has taken place. A working group has been in place for a year, with some expectations that a decision to launch formal talks could be made soon. Read more here.
 

(Dallas Morning News)

If President Barack Obama were graded on trade policy, he’d probably get a gentleman’s C, and only that high because he had former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk as his tutor.

Kirk, who was part of Obama’s White House team from Day One, will leave his post as U.S. trade representative next month, the latest in a growing list of officials who have opted not to stay on for the president’s second term.

Both as a candidate and as president, Obama has displayed an uneasy relationship with business, free trade and globalism. Not so for Kirk, who as Dallas mayor promoted both international trade — as part of the city’s economic agenda — and the North American Free Trade Agreement.

At the top of Kirk’s accomplishments in Washington are prominent pacts with Colombia, Panama and South Korea. Negotiations began during George W. Bush’s administration, but it was Kirk who jump-started and completed the deals after winning additional political and economic promises. More recently, he has been a central player in U.S.-Asian trade talks. Read more here.
 

(Reuters)

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said on Tuesday he was stepping down as the nation’s top trade official in late February, opening up a plum economic post as President Barack Obama searches for more women and minorities for his Cabinet.

White House international economic affairs adviser Mike Froman had been considered the front-runner to succeed Kirk, but sources familiar with his thinking said he was likely to stay in his current job, which allows him to weigh in on issues ranging from energy and climate change to trade and international finance. One source familiar with the situation identified Treasury Under Secretary for International Affairs Lael Brainard, Commerce Under Secretary for International Affairs Francisco Sanchez and U.S. Export-Import Bank President Fred Hochberg as candidates for the USTR job.

Kirk, a former mayor of Dallas, Texas and early Obama supporter, oversaw congressional approval of free-trade agreements with South Korea, Panama and Colombia. He also completed negotiations on Russia’s entry to the World Trade Organization. Read more here.
 

(Bloomberg)

President Barack Obama is set to notify Congress early next week that the U.S. plans to participate in trade talks to lower national barriers to financial services, telecommunications and express delivery, according to people familiar with the decision.

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk’s office is preparing a 90-day notification to Congress that it will take part in so-called trade in services negotiations at the World Trade Organization in Geneva, the people said. They declined to discuss the process on the record before a formal announcement.

Services are a growing portion of international trade, accounting for about $8 trillion in 2011, according to WTO statistics. The countries involved in the talks account for about 70 percent of global commerce.

Discussions probably will cover the cross-border movement of financial data, information and communications services, maritime, environmental and energy services and government procurement. Read more here.
 

(STR Trade Report)

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has posted to its Web site its annual report on China’s compliance with its World Trade Organization commitments. The report states that despite the “remarkable results” that have resulted from China’s accession to the WTO in 2001, “the overall picture currently presented by China’s WTO membership remains complex.”

The report reiterates ongoing concerns about the direction of China’s economic and trade policies. “For much of the past decade, the Chinese government has been re-emphasizing the state’s role in the economy, diverging from the path of economic reform that drove China’s accession to the WTO,” USTR states. “With the state leading China’s economic development, the Chinese government has pursued new and more expansive industrial policies, often designed to limit market access for imported goods, foreign manufacturers and foreign service suppliers, while offering substantial government guidance, resources and regulatory support to Chinese industries, particularly ones dominated by state-owned enterprises. This heavy state role in the economy, reinforced by unchecked discretionary actions of Chinese government regulators, has generated serious trade frictions with China’s many trade partners, including the United States.” USTR calls on China to reverse these trends and notes that “there were some positive signs in 2012 that China may be focused on re-energizing its economic reforms.”

Read the complete article here.
 

(infojustice.org)

On New Year’s Eve, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued a Federal Register Notice announcing 2013′s Special 301 Review. This is the annual process in which an interagency committee led by USTR conducts a review “to identify countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protection.” The process ends with the publication of the Special 301 Report, which includes various countries on the “Watch List,” the “Priority Watch List,” or as “Priority Foreign Countries.” If a country is listed as a Priority Foreign Country, this can lead to formal sanctions (though the U.S.’s membership in the WTO complicates this).

As part of the process, USTR solicits written comments from all interested parties, and holds a public hearing which is open to all interested parties. This year, written comments and requests to testify at the hearing must be submitted by February 8 (with the exception of comments from foreign governments, which can be submitted until the 15th). The hearing will be on February 20. The Special 301 Report will be published “on or about” April 30. Read more here.
 

(STR Trade Report)

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has announced the petitions that have been accepted as part of the 2012 annual review of the Generalized System of Preferences. USTR has also denied a previously submitted petition seeking to add certain pinch-seal plastic bags (categorized under HTSUS 3923.21.0030) to the list of products eligible for duty-free treatment under GSP.

According to USTR, the GSP Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee has reviewed the product and competitive need limitation waiver petitions submitted as part of the 2012 review and has decided to accept for review petitions to add four products to the list of those eligible for duty-free treatment under GSP and petitions to waive CNLs for 12 products from certain countries. Read more here.