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June 2006 News 6/29/06 USTR Schwab Reaffirms U.S. Commitment to Successful Doha Talks In a June 29 op-ed article in the Wall Street Journal, U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab reaffirmed the USG’s commitment to an “ambitious and comprehensive outcome” to the Doha Round of WTO trade negotiations by the end of 2006. She echoed President Bush’s statement at last week’s U.S.-EU summit that the Round is “too important to fail.” Schwab stated that half measures “that would leave millions in poverty… and that would dampen potential economic opportunities for people in all countries, should not be acceptable.” She said that it is not too late for WTO members to match the USG’s proposal to make meaningful cuts in agricultural tariffs. Schwab concluded by stating, “The need for meaningful trade liberalization has never been greater and the potential benefits of expanded trade have never been more compelling.” View USIS Washington File report 6/27/06 Schwab Announces Appointment of Chief Counsel for China Trade Enforcement On June 23, U.S. Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab announced the appointment of Claire E. Reade to serve as Chief Counsel for China Trade Enforcement. Schwab made the announcement after meeting with ouse Majority Whip Roy Blunt. The position was created as part of USTR’s top-to-bottom review of U.S. - China trade relations. Reade will coordinate USTR's efforts to ensure China's compliance with its international trade commitments, particularly its WTO obligations and the important commitments that China has made within the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT). She will also co-chair USTR's newly formed China Enforcement Task Force. Schwab commented that Reade’s “appointment will help ensure that American companies, workers, and farmers gain the full benefit of our trade agreements with China." 6/27/06 USTR Schwab Announces New IPR Office Following a June 23 meeting with House Majority Whip Roy Blunt, U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab announced the creation of a new Intellectual Property office, headed by Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Victoria A. Espinel, and several additions to the USTR team. Commenting on the new office, Schwab stated, "In the global economy, maintaining protections for American innovations abroad is critical to advancing U.S. competitiveness. Protection of Intellectual Property by other nations is also critical to their own economic development, including promotion of indigenous innovations, creativity and access to innovations by consumers and promoters of innovation." USTR is increasing both financial resources and staff for the new office, including a Chief Negotiator for Intellectual Property Enforcement, Stanford McCoy. He will serve as the Chief Negotiator for Intellectual Property Enforcement and will lead the office’s intellectual property enforcement efforts, with a special focus on priority countries, including China and Russia. 6/27/06 President Urges Congress to Pass U.S.-Oman FTA In a June 26 message to Congress, President Bush said that U.S. congressional approval of the U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will encourage economic and social reforms in Oman, enhance bilateral relations, and would “mark another important step towards creating a Middle East Free Trade Area.” The agreement would provide duty-free access on trade between the two countries, immediately for all industrial goods and over time for all agricultural goods. The President added that passage of the FTA will illustrate for other developing countries “the advantage of open markets and increased trade.” View White House press release 6/23/06 United States and India Discuss Key Trade Issues On June 22, U.S. Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab and India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath held the third Ministerial-level meeting of the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum (TPF). Ambassador Schwab commented, “Under the Trade Policy Forum we continue to make steady progress on key issues to improve the bilateral trade and investment climate. We remain committed to doubling bilateral trade over the next three years, and improving the regulatory, customs and intellectual property protection climate is key.” Ambassador Schwab and Minister Nath also discussed the Doha negotiations, agreeing that the U.S. and India share a commitment to conclude a successful, far reaching Doha Round by the end of 2006. 6/22/06 U.S., Japan Reach Agreement on Resumption of Beef Trade USDA announced June 21 that the United States and Japan have reached an agreement that ultimately will lead to the resumption of sales of U.S. beef to Japan. Japan agreed to reopen its market to U.S. beef after it conducts inspections of 35 U.S. beef-processing plants that are authorized by the U.S. Government to export to Japan; the GOJ expects to complete the inspections by July 21. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns welcomed the bilateral agreement but said he would not be satisfied until “U.S. beef is once again accepted in the Japanese market.” Upon completion of the audits, Johanns said, the U.S. goal is for all suppliers to be approved at the same time to export to Japan. Members of the United States Senate from agricultural states greeted the agreement cautiously. View text of U.S.-Japan joint press statement View text of Secretary Johanns’ statement 6/20/06 United States, Malaysia Poised To Complete FTA in 2006 Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Southeast Asia Barbara Wiesel, who is the chief U.S negotiator for the U.S.-Malaysia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) said June 16 that the first week of bilateral FTA negotiations went well and placed the two sides in a good position to reach agreement in 2006. During a conference call from Malaysia, Wiesel told reporters that no surprising complications emerged during the first round. The two sides exchanged proposed texts for an FTA and set up 22 working groups. They identified the politically sensitive issues for each side, including autos and procurement for Malaysia and textiles for the United States, she said. The next round of negotiations is scheduled for mid-July in Washington. Malaysia is the United States' 10th-largest trading partner with $44 billion in two-way trade in 2005. A U.S. business group has estimated that two-way trade could double in five years with an FTA. View text of Wiesel’s statement 6/20/06 WTO Panel Finds Against EC Customs Law Administration On June 16, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Peter F Allgeier announced that a WTO dispute settlement panel issued a report shining a spotlight on the lack of uniform administration of customs laws in the EC. The report comes in a dispute brought by the United States in March 2005. Allgeier commented that that the panel report “…calls attention to a serious trade facilitation problem in the EC." He stated that “A system of customs administration that varies from region to region across the territory of a WTO Member makes the world trading system less efficient and is especially vexing to small traders…The EC, as a WTO Member in its own right, must be held to no less a standard." The WTO panel found that the EC had breached its WTO obligations, finding the EC system of customs administration to be "complicated and, at times, opaque and confusing." The EC’s lack of uniform administration means a good may be classified one way when imported into Germany and an entirely different way, attracting a different rate of duty, when imported into Spain, for example. 6/16/06 Free Trade Essential for Global Poverty Reduction, Bush Says In his June 15 remarks to approximately 200 U.S. business executives, civic leaders and policy experts at the 2006 National Summit to End Poverty in Washington, President Bush said that free trade is essential for reducing global poverty. The President challenged all countries to reduce trade barriers to make development aid more effective and to complete the Doha Development Agenda trade talks. "Prosperity as a result of trade is more likely -- 10 times more likely to have a positive effect on somebody living in a poor society than just investment and grants," Bush said. However, other countries are restricting progress in promoting free trade, Bush said. He called for Europe in the negotiations to make "tough decisions" to drop trade barriers in agriculture, for the Group of 20 (G-20) major industrialized nations to open up trade in manufacturing, and for all nations to give more access to their markets. Saying the United States already has proposed eliminating its tariffs, subsidies and other barriers to trade, Bush said, "We expect other nations to do the same." Also at the summit, Karan Bhatia, the deputy U.S. Trade Representative, said the biggest challenge the United States faces in advancing free trade is convincing developing countries to open their markets to exports from other developing countries. View transcript of President’s remarks 6/16/06 U.S., Canada, and Mexico Launch North American Competitiveness Council On June 15, U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, Mexican Economy Minister Sergio Garcia de Alba, and Canadian Minister of Industry Maxime Bernier met with North American business leaders to officially launch the North American Competitiveness Council (NACC), which was announced in March. Secretary Gutierrez commented, "The private sector is the driving force behind innovation and growth, and the private sector's involvement in the SPP [Security and Prosperity Partnership] is key to enhancing North America 's competitive position in global markets." The NACC is made up of high level business leaders from each country. Each country's council consists of ten members who will meet annually with the SPP Prosperity and Security Ministers to provide recommendations and priorities on promoting North American competitiveness globally. In addition, the governments of North America will work with the NACC to remove barriers in order to increase the competitiveness of North American firms in the global marketplace and spur economic growth. View SPP Recent Accomplishments (fact sheet) 6/16/06 U.S.-EU Summit Agenda Will Include Iran, Economic Issues When he meets with EU leaders at the U.S.-EU Summit in Vienna on June 21, President Bush will discuss the way forward on Iran’s nuclear program and methods to protect intellectual property rights with leaders of the European Union (EU) at the June 21 U.S.-EU Summit in Vienna, Austria. The President’s national security advisor, Stephen Hadley, told reporters on June 15 that the summit will focus on mutual cooperation to spread democracy, enhance security and pursue global prosperity. Regarding economic issues, Hadley said that the Administration plans to initiate “a new area of cooperation” with the EU on intellectual property rights enforcement in third countries. Bush also hopes to renew his call for an “ambitious outcome” for the WTO’s Doha Development Agenda negotiations. View USIS Washington File report 6/15/06 USTR Schwab Welcomes Congressional Action to Increase Trade with Vietnam On June 13, U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab lauded the introduction of legislation in Congress to terminate application of Jackson-Vanik trade restrictions and pave the way for Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) with Vietnam. Following the conclusion of a bilateral market access agreement between the United States and Vietnam in May, passage of PNTR legislation is another step toward Vietnam’s accession to the (WTO). After the introduction of the bills in the House and Senate, Ambassador Schwab noted that the U.S.-Vietnam bilateral trade agreement “… will promote continued economic and political reform within Vietnam and continue the normalization of US – Vietnam relations that has been underway for almost two decades. But we need passage of PNTR to realize these opportunities." PNTR is necessary for the United States to capture the benefits of Vietnam’s WTO accession commitments. 6/9/06 Statement of Susan C. Schwab, United States Trade Representative View the text of Susan C. Schwab’s statement upon being confirmed by the Senate as the 15th U.S. Trade Representative. 6/9/06 Intellectual Property Rights Protection Weak in China, U.S. Says Although China has made some progress in its efforts to enforce intellectual property rights (IPR), the country still has "a long way to go," U.S. officials said at a June 7 hearing of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC). Chris Israel, the U.S. coordinator for international intellectual property enforcement in the Department of Commerce, said the Chinese government is setting up 50 reporting centers for IPR violations throughout the country. Israel cited several court cases won by IPR holders. He noted a successful suit by Starbucks against a Chinese company that had adopted Starbucks' Chinese name and a similar logo, as well as a suit by chocolate company Ferrero Rocher, which won a suit against a company that was manufacturing a counterfeit version of one of its products. Israel noted that, "Though these are good examples, the problems in China run deep, and we continue to work extensively with the Chinese government on the issues of counterfeiting and piracy.” According to Israel, the administration has established an interagency process to coordinate and implement its Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy (STOP) initiative, launched in October 2004, which is "an attempt to play offense in the global fight against piracy and counterfeiting." Agencies involved in STOP include the White House, USTR and the departments of Commerce, Justice, Homeland Security and State. "STOP is the most comprehensive initiative ever advanced to fight global piracy where it starts, block bogus goods at America's borders and help American businesses secure and enforce their rights around the world," he said. Timothy Stafford, assistant U.S. trade representative for China, also testified at the hearing. View USIS Washington File report 6/9/06 USITC Report Assesses Impact Of U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement On June 7, the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) released its report assessing the bilateral trade promotion agreement (TPA) that the President has entered into with Peru. According to the report, the U.S.-Peru TPA may have a small, positive effect on the U.S. economy. The benefits will likely be moderated by the relatively small size of Peru’s economy in relation to the U.S.economy, Peru’s small share of U.S. trade—Peru accounted for approximately 0.3 percent of total U.S. goods trade in 2005—and Peru’s access to duty-free entry under ATPA and the Generalized System of Preferences. The U.S.-Peru TPA would provide U.S. service firms levels of market access, national treatment, and regulatory transparency that generally exceed those afforded by Peru's commitments under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). While the economic effects of the TPA provisions on trade facilitation and the regulatory environment are likely to be small, U.S.-based firms are likely to benefit from the application of the TPA trade facilitation provisions by Peru, which are intended to establish a secure, predictable legal framework for U.S. firms operating in Peru. 6/9/06 United States, Rwanda Sign Trade Agreement On June 7, the United States and Rwanda signed a pact aimed at reinforcing trade and investment links. Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Karan Bhatia and Rwandan Minister of Commerce, Industry, Investment Promotion, Tourism, and Cooperatives Protais Mitali signed the agreement on the final day of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum. Bhatia commented, “The TIFA [trade and investment framework agreement] will provide an opportunity for us to work together to expand trade and investment between our two countries and to work more closely in a broad range of trade-related areas." The TIFA establishes a consultative forum for addressing bilateral trade issues and enhance trade relations between the two countries. The United States currently has TIFAs with several other African nations and entities, including Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and the West African Economic and Monetary Union. 6/9/06 U.S. Trade Official Sees "New Era" in U.S.-Africa Trade During her remarks to the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Investment Summit in Washington on June 7, U.S. Trade Representative-designate Susan Schwab noted that, while there are encouraging signs that “a new era" of trade, investment and prosperity is beginning in Africa, there is still much to be done to ensure long-term economic growth and development. She said trade, spurred by AGOA and other Bush administration initiatives, has helped Africa become more prosperous, but Africa needs investment, which she called a "critical component" for stimulating growth and development. One of the significant developments that has come out of the Doha round of WTO negotiations over the past five years, she said, is the emergence of a more "solid consensus" among all nations, including developing nations, that trade is an important path to economic growth and development. In many ways, she stated, AGOA is helping to usher in a new era by "broadening and deepening" trade and investment relations with the countries of sub-Saharan Africa. 6/6/06 Commerce Secretary Gutierrez Visits Brazil 6/6/06 U.S. Hopes Central American Trade Pact Takes Effect "Very Soon" When he met with reporters in Santo Domingo on June 4, Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick commented that a number of steps must be taken before the U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) can enter into force in the Dominican Republic, but the United States hopes it will take place very soon. Regarding CAFTA-DR, said that issues relating to government procurement, intellectual property rights and agriculture need to be worked through. The legislatures of six of the seven CAFTA governments already have approved the trade pact. U.S. trade officials met with a Dominican delegation in Washington the week of May 29 to discuss that nation’s efforts to implement the CAFTA-DR. View transcript of Zoellick’s remarks 6/6/06 Bush Administration Deeply Committed to African Economic Growth During his June 5 remarks at the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Private Sector Forum, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Karan K. Bhatia said that the meetings associated with the Forum provide the Bush administration with the chance to further enhance its "deep commitment to and involvement in furthering economic growth and development all across Africa." Bhatia said these meetings also allow Bush administration officials to interact with African government officials, business people and investors to "take stock of what we have accomplished and where we are going" in trying to make AGOA even more of a catalyst for enhanced and expanded U.S.-Africa trade. AGOA provides duty-free access to more than 6,400 items -- including textile products -- into the U.S. market for African nations willing to reform their economies along free-market lines. Bhatia said discussions at the ministerial level are long past debating the merits of trade, and now are dwelling on how fast trade can be developed and what the United States can do to open its markets further. Bhatia said the U.S. wants to continue to work with its African trade partners to conclude a new global trade agreement under the WTO. View transcript of Bhatia's remarks 6/2/06 U.S, Vietnam Sign Bilateral Trade Agreement
View USTR fact sheets Vietnam's WTO Accession: Bilateral Market Access Agreement on Industrial Goods Vietnam's WTO Accession: Bilateral Market Access Agreement on Agricultural Goods Vietnam's WTO Accession Bilateral Market Access Agreement on Services 6/2/06 APEC Ministers Call For Urgent Action On Doha Round On June 2, trade Ministers from 21 APEC economies committed to seek an ambitious agreement in the WTO Doha Round. The statement reiterated the message from APEC Leaders last November on the urgency of moving ahead on agriculture market access to unblock the negotiations. These Ministers, representing economies that amount for 50 percent of global trade, agreed that a strong market access result is a prerequisite for a successful conclusion of the Round, and intend to support strong formulas that deliver meaningful new opportunities, because the Doha Round offers so much potential to deliver concrete results that expand trade flows and promote global economic development. Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab commented, "We welcome today’s statement by APEC trade ministers. This gathering – representing many of the world’s most dynamic economies - has made clear that it will stand united in support of an ambitious and robust Doha outcome…” The APEC meeting follows the meeting of trade ministers at the OECD in Paris, France at the end of May. Both ministerial meetings concluded that agriculture market access holds the key to unblocking the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) negotiations. |
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