August 2001 News

WTO: 647 Non-Governmental Organizations Eligible to Attend Doha Ministerial

WTO Director General Moore sent letters to 647 non-governmental organizations confirming their eligibility to attend the Doha ministerial conference. Mr. Moore welcomed civil society's "serious and broad interest" in the work of the WTO.

View the WTO Press Release

U.S. Suspends Ukraine's Special Duty-Free Status Over IPR Piracy, Issues Preliminary Sanctions List

On August 7, the USG decided to suspend the special duty-free status for Ukrainian products and issued a preliminary list of other products that could face sanctions, due to Ukraine's persistent failure to curb unauthorized production of optical media products (CDs, CD-ROMs, DVDs, etc.) The United States is currently seeking public comments and will hold a public hearing with regard to whether trade sanctions should be imposed against certain products. This hearing will also review whether sanctioning such products would encourage Ukraine to provide adequate protection of intellectual property rights or if it would adversely affect U.S. economic interests. View the USTR press release (no longer available) View USTR proposed sanctions list (no longer available) View U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule

WTO: TRIMs-Compliance Grace Period Extended for Eight Developing Countries

On July 31, the WTO Goods Council granted extensions of time for the elimination of trade-related investment measures notified under Article 5.1 of the TRIMs Agreement to: Argentina, Colombia, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, the Philippines and Romania. In addition, the General Council granted Thailand a waiver for its TRIMs. Under the Agreement, developing countries had a five year transition period, ending on 12/31/2000, to eliminate their prohibited TRIMs. The extensions and waiver extend this deadline for the requesting countries by two years (from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2001). These countries may request an additional two years (1 January 2002 to 31 December 2003), provided that they submit a phase-out plan for the prohibited measure to the WTO and meet other specified criteria.

View WTO press release

NAFTA Builds on North American Partnership

NAFTA Builds on North American Partnership After their July 31 NAFTA Free Trade Commission meeting, USTR Zoellick, Canadian Minister for International Trade Pettigrew, and Mexican Secretary of Economy Derbez issued a statement regarding implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) during its first seven years. The ministers noted that, since 1994, trade among the parties has grown by 128 percent, to over U.S.$676 billion, and investment has increased significantly, with total investment in NAFTA countries reaching US$1.3 trillion in 1999. This growth in trade and investment has created millions of jobs in all three countries. The ministers are confident that NAFTA's success will continue while the parties proceed with implementation of the agreement. View the USTR press release (no longer available) View Free Trade Commission Clarifications Related to NAFTA Chapter 11 (no longer available)

Secretary Evans Emphasizes Importance of TPA, Need to Enforce U.S. Trade Agreements

During his August 1, 2001 testimony before the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee on ensuring the benefits of trade agreements for Americans, Secretary of Commerce Evans underscored the importance of granting Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) to the President as a vehicle for breaking down barriers to U.S. exports and improving job opportunities for American workers. The Secretary also stressed the need to enforce current U.S. trade agreements, noting that "I have made compliance and enforcement the highest priority for all units within the International Trade Administration." View text of Secretary Evans' August 1 testimony(no longer available)

Moldova Accedes to WTO

On July 26, Moldova acceded to the WTO.

View WTO news release