House Ways & Means Committee Democrats on Wednesday said they opposed the Trump administration’s pursuit of a trade agreement or “expanded economic partnership” with Brazil under President Jair Bolsonaro, calling it “inappropriate” given the Brazilian government’s “dismantling hard-fought progress on civil, human, environmental, and labor rights.”
NON-SUBSCRIBER OPTIONS
FREE TRIAL | NEWSSTAND
World Trade Online
IN TRADE
“It’s been the lack of U.S. leadership and our own conduct that’s been holding back progress within the WTO.”
Wed, 5:07 PM
“The administration is right to seek a comprehensive agreement but if its terms are too stringent, it will cease to be a model and it will not contribute to the completion of the AfCFTA, let alone an AfCFTA that accommodates U.S. wishes and concerns.”
Wed, 4:27 PM
ITI, the Internet Association, CSI and ITIF also applauded USTR’s action.
Tue, 5:13 PM
The USTR will participate in a webinar hosted by the Economic Club of New York.
Tue, 4:54 PM
“I’m not worried about the trade agreement,” Grassley said.
Tue, 4:26 PM
The World Trade Organization is in need of a “course correction,” Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Arancha González-Laya -- often cited as a potential WTO director-general candidate -- said on Wednesday, arguing that members must “think big” but “start small.”
More than 30 business groups spanning five continents are calling for the G20 to prioritize digital trade issues and commit to free trade practices and principles including the free flow of data across borders, a ban on e-commerce duties and negotiating digitally-focused rules in trade agreements.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will initiate Section 301 investigations into digital services taxes being considered by 10 U.S. trading partners, USTR said on Tuesday.
The Commerce Department this week initiated an investigation into the national security implications of vanadium imports, which the agency says are key for a host of industrial sectors including defense, aerospace and energy.
President Trump’s decision to delay a G7 summit that had been set for June will give countries more time to come up with substantial outcomes aimed at mitigating the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on the economy and developing supply-chain solutions, according to analysts and former White House officials.
NAFTA
-
Uniform regulations that will steer the application of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s auto rules of origin are expected to be completed by June 1, sources tell Inside U.S. Trade.
-
Mexico will use the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s non-market economy clause to push the U.S. for detailed information about its trade negotiations with China, a senior Mexican official said on Tuesday.
China
-
Citing the economic impact of the pandemic, the Agriculture Department this month lowered its forecast for total U.S. agricultural exports in fiscal year 2020 by $3 billion.
-
President Trump on Friday announced the U.S. will revoke Hong Kong’s special trade status and stop treating it as a customs union separate from China, which will subject the city to the same U.S. export controls and tariffs as Beijing.
World Trade Organization
-
The timeline and framework for the second phase of the search for a new World Trade Organization director-general, during which candidates meet and talk with members, should be set by the end of the nomination window on July 8, the General Council chair told members on Friday.
-
The U.S. and European Union are unlikely to resolve longstanding disputes over subsidies to airplane manufacturers Boeing and Airbus before the bloc receives World Trade Organization authorization to retaliate against the U.S. and “rebalance the level playing field,” EU Director-General for Trade Sabine Weyand said on Thursday.
GET 30 DAYS FREE
Sign up for 30 days of no-obligation access to World Trade Online for all the essential news.
TOP DOCUMENTS
