December 2003 News

President Bush Issues African Growth and Opportunity Act Proclamation

In a proclamation issued December 30, President Bush included Angola on a list of countries eligible for trade preferences under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), while dropping the Central African Republic and Eritrea from that list. The Central African Republic and Eritrea were dropped because they did not meet eligibility requirements. Countries are deemed eligible for the trade preferences based on criteria such as progress toward a market-based economy, reforms, and their embrace of democratic principles.

View text of Presidential Proclamation on AGOA

U.S. Requests Consultations on Egypt’s Import Duties on Apparel and Textile Products

On December 23, USTR filed a formal request for WTO consultations with Egypt in connection with the import duties which Egypt places on certain apparel and textile products. During the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations, Egypt agreed to bind its duties on certain articles of apparel and clothing in 2003 at a rate of 46 percent, based on the value of the imports, and agreed to bind its duties on certain other textile and apparel articles at a rate of 41 percent. The actual duties which Egypt imposes on these imports appear to greatly exceed these bound rates, which would be inconsistent with its WTO commitments. In addition, because the imposed rates are based on the number of articles being imported, rather than the value of the imports, the imposed rates cause considerable uncertainty in the market. Egypt appears thus to have effectively denied U.S. exporters access to its market through these duties--the U.S. exported just $256,000 in clothing to Egypt in 2002. View USTR press release (no longer available)

2003 Report to Congress on China's WTO Compliance

View the text (pdf)of USTR’s report to Congress on China’s WTO compliance. According to the report, "China’s WTO implementation progress must be measured by the degree to which China has begun to institutionalize market mechanisms and to make its trade regime more predictable and transparent. By that score, the shortcomings in China’s WTO implementation are noteworthy. Unlike last year, China’s uneven and incomplete WTO compliance record can no longer be attributed to start-up problems."

U.S. and Central American Countries Conclude Historic Free Trade Agreement

On December 17, the U.S. and four Central American nations concluded an historic and comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) that will strip away barriers to trade, eliminate tariffs, open markets, and promote investment, economic growth and opportunity for all five countries. “In early 2002 President Bush put forward his vision for the region, a free trade agreement with Central America that expands economic freedom and opportunity for all our peoples, and which supports regional stability, democracy and economic development. Negotiations began last January, and today, we have fulfilled that vision with a cutting edge, modern FTA designed to tear down the tariff walls that block trade between the United States and Central America, between friends and neighbors,” said U.S. Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick, in announcing the accord with his Ministerial colleagues from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. The culmination of a year of intense negotiations, CAFTA fulfills a key U.S. objective of opening markets with free trade partners, while continuing to push trade liberalization hemispherically through the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and globally in the Doha talks in the WTO. View USTR press release (no longer available)

WTO Appellate Body Upholds U.S. Antidumping Determination in Case Involving Japanese Steel

On December 15,USTR announced that the WTO Appellate Body upheld a previous WTO panel report which stated the U.S. had acted consistently with its WTO obligations in a case involving the application of U.S. trade remedy laws to Japanese corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat products. Japan had appealed the panel report, which addressed a determination by the U.S. Commerce Department to leave in place an antidumping duty order on these Japanese steel products as a result of a "sunset review," which are part of the process of administering the U.S. antidumping duty law. The Appellate Body findings are significant because they allow the U.S. to keep in place the antidumping duty order on these Japanese steel products. View USTR press release (no longer available)

Technical Corrections to U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule

Pursuant to authority delegated to the United States Trade Representative ("USTR") in Presidential Proclamation 6969 of January 27, 1997 (62 FR 4415), USTR is making technical corrections to subchapter III of chapter 99 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States ("HTS") as set forth in the annex to this notice. These modifications correct several inadvertent errors and omissions in subheadings 9903.72.30 through 9903.74.24 of the HTS so that the intended tariff treatment is provided. In addition, USTR is modifying other portions of the HTS so as to reflect the correct treatment of goods described in general note 10(c) of the HTS and subheading 2933.59.95 of the HTS.

View Federal Register notice

Attorney General Ashcroft Signs U.N. Convention Against Corruption

The U.S., represented by Attorney General John Ashcroft, signed a landmark treaty against corruption on the opening day of a December 9-12 U.N. forum in Merida, Mexico. In a December 10 statement, State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said that more than 100 additional nations are expected to sign the U.N. Convention Against Corruption during the three-day signing conference hosted by Mexican President Vicente Fox. Boucher said the treaty requires governments to pass criminal laws against the bribing of their own and foreign officials and against other corruption-related acts such as embezzlement and money laundering. The pact also requires governments to take preventive measures against corruption, facilitates cooperation among nations for the purposes of extradition and asset recovery, and creates a vehicle for global information-sharing and technical assistance in anticorruption matters. The convention, which Boucher characterized as a “major advance in the international fight against corruption," enters into force once the legislatures of 30 signatories have ratified it.

View USIS Washington File report

Commerce Secretary Evans Praises AGOA

View the text (no longer available) of Commerce Secretary Donald Evans’ remarks at a December 9 luncheon held during the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Summit in Washington, in which he noted that "AGOA is helping African businesses grow. Total AGOA imports to the US through September 2003 are already $10.2 billion, 14 percent more than for all of 2002.” In the future, said the Secretary, the U.S. “hope(s) to see enhanced regional integration, which will create markets of substantially larger scale.”

U.S. FTAA Negotiator "More Optimistic" About Status of Trade Pact

Ross Wilson, the chief U.S. negotiator for the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), says he is increasingly optimistic about prospects for the proposed trade pact that would encompass the 34 democracies of the Western Hemisphere. Speaking December 9, Wilson attributed his optimism to what he described as the successful conclusion of a recent meeting of hemispheric trade ministers in Miami, which gave the broad trade liberalization goals of the FTAA "new focus and definition that I believe will now enable those of us charged with negotiating the [FTAA] agreement to make rapid progress in the months ahead." The next step in the FTAA process, he said, will be a meeting of trade negotiators that has tentatively been set for the first week of February 2004, in Puebla, Mexico. While he expects the Puebla negotiations "will be difficult and contentious," after many informal discussions on the margins of the formal trade ministerial in Miami, "the conclusion we and other delegations involved came away with is that we will be able to agree on a common set of negotiating objectives in each of the relevant areas" of the FTAA negotiations. View USIS Washington File report View USTR Zoellick’s Financial Times article on FTAA negotiations

Bush Calls U.S., China "Partners in Diplomacy"

In remarks welcoming Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to the White House on December 9, President Bush said that the U.S. and China share many interests, including counter-terrorism, free trade, and peace and stability on the Korean peninsula. "We are partners in diplomacy working to meet the dangers of the 21st century," Bush said. "We are full members of a world trading system that rewards enterprise and lifts nations." Bush also praised the rapid growth of the Chinese economy, but said that "if prosperity's power is to reach in every corner of China, the Chinese government must fully integrate into the rules and norms of the international trading and finance system." View USIS Washington File report (includes transcript of remarks)

U.S. Official Outlines Importance of U.S.-Central American Trade Agreement

In December 8 remarks to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for the Americas Regina Vargo stated that the U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) will yield broad benefits, and U.S. trade negotiators and their Central American counterparts must work together to forge an agreement that advances everyone's interests. Vargo said that CAFTA is an important part of the Bush administration's efforts to foster a prosperous, secure and democratic hemisphere. She outlined the importance of the CAFTA, progress made in the trade negotiations to date, and the challenges that remain as the talks near completion. She said that the nations of Central America have been "excellent" trading partners with the U.S. and identified the goal of the CAFTA negotiations as bolstering this important commercial relationship by crafting an agreement that "lowers tariffs, opens markets and establishes state-of-the-art rules" governing commercial transactions.

View USIS Washington File report

Secretary Evans Says Steel Tariff Strategy Was Successful

View the text of Commerce Secretary Donald Evans’ December 5 Wall Street Journal column, in which he stated that the Administration’s steel tariff strategy was successful. The Secretary stated that the steel industry's response to the safeguard measures, which were enacted in March 2002, has been exemplary. The U.S. steel industry used this period “to restructure and consolidate, thereby becoming stronger and more competitive…Today, U.S. steelmakers, both integrated and mini mills, are among the most efficient producers in the world.”

U.S. and EU Applaud New TABD Leadership

Secretary of Commerce Donald L. Evans and EU Commissioner for Enterprise Erkki Liikanen expressed strong support for the announcement that Douglas N. Daft, CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, and Niall FitzGerald, Chairman of Unilever PLC, will be co-chairs of the Transatlantic Business Dialogue (TABD) for 2004-5. "The best way for the U.S. and Europe to improve economic growth is to create a more competitive and integrated marketplace," said Secretary Evans. "This cannot occur without continual dialogue between businesses and governments." "I am pleased with Mr FitzGerald and Mr Daft taking the lead in the TABD process," said Commissioner Liikanen. "The European Commission endorses this process and is committed to making it a success with concrete results." The first meeting of the TABD will be in Davos, Switzerland on the margins of the World Economic Forum January 21-25. CEO Daft and Chairman FitzGerald, in their official capacity as TABD chairmen, will meet with Secretary Evans on December 5, 2003 to discuss their vision for TABD. Through the TABD, business leaders provide recommendations to the U.S. and EU government to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of the transatlantic marketplace.

View text of Commerce Department press release

Algerian Parliament Bans Alcohol Imports

In an amendment to the 2004 finance law by an Islamist party, the Algerian Senate voted on November 11 to ban the importation of alcohol. The vote followed a favorable vote by the Assembly earlier in the month. The amendment does not ban domestic production and thus appears to be discriminatory and in violation of WTO norms and Algeria's EU association agreement commitments. The amendment is written as a simple prohibition on the importation of alcohol, and not as a ban on the consumption, sale, possession, or distribution of alcohol. GOA Finance Minister Abdelatif Benachenhou declared to the press immediately after the vote that the amendment was "contrary to Algeria's international commitments," adding that international trade agreements do not recognize import bans and "Algerian exports could suffer the same fate."

U.S. Wins WTO Appeal on Japan's Restrictions on U.S. Apples

In a December 1 press release, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick stated that the WTO Appellate Body has upheld earlier panel findings that Japan's import restrictions on U.S. apples are not justified and are in breach of Japan's WTO obligations. "I am very pleased that the Appellate Body confirmed that Japan's restrictions on U.S. apples violate WTO rules. This is very important for gaining meaningful access to Japan's market," Zoellick said. "We are committed to ensuring a level playing field for apples and other U.S. agricultural goods…” View USIS Washington File report (includes text of USTR press release)