World Trade Organization members are pushing for the 12th ministerial conference’s outcome document to include language on WTO reform and e-commerce, but consensus has been hard to come by on both issues as members fight over whether to extend the moratorium on e-commerce duties and how to outline future reform talks.
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IN TRADE
“Make it attractive for developing countries to adopt higher labor, environmental and digital standards.”
Wed, 10:25 AM
They met in France to discuss concerns about Russia and China as well as the “looming threat of a trade war” between the EU and the UK.
Wed, 10:22 AM
Also on the agenda: The Summit of the Americas and the 12th WTO ministerial.
Tue, 12:56 PM
They met in France to discuss concerns about Russia and China as well as the “looming threat of a trade war” between the EU and the UK.
Tue, 10:14 AM
“USTR must adhere to the 2015 Consultation Guidelines as it continues to negotiate trade deals on a bilateral, plurilateral, and multilateral basis.”
Tue, 8:00 AM
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security this week said it will not distinguish between “emerging” and “foundational” technologies when issuing export controls.
Initial congressional reaction to the unveiling of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework has been mostly positive, though some prominent lawmakers from both parties continue to press the administration for more traditional market-access discussions with countries in the region.
News analysis
India is officially one of the 13 founding members of the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, but the scope of New Delhi’s participation remains to be seen -- and some analysts believe it will be focused less on trade and more on the framework’s supply chain, infrastructure and clean energy, and tax and anticorruption efforts.
Insider Interview
The United States and the European Union are embarking on efforts to better coordinate approaches to investment screening -- a “concrete” endeavor essential to “protecting the common enterprise” as they push to strengthen economic ties, according to Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Jose Fernandez.
Civil society groups from around the world are reacting to the announcement of Indo-Pacific Economic Framework negotiations by warning leaders of the 13 countries involved that talks must be conducted transparently -- and any deal must advance workers’ interests.
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“Fish Week” at the World Trade Organization -- the first of at least two planned ahead of the 12th ministerial conference in June -- succeeded in shifting momentum in the negotiations to rein in harmful fisheries subsidies toward a constructive, more flexible atmosphere, but now members must put their money where their mouth is to reach an agreement, the chair of the talks said on Friday.
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The World Trade Organization negotiations on whether and how to waive some intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines have reached text-based talks but lack the political momentum and urgency from members needed to move them forward, the chair of the WTO body tasked with concluding the negotiations said on Thursday.
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Indo-Pacific Economic Framework negotiations this week will begin among the U.S. and a dozen other countries, including seven members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and include talks about a mechanism for adding new members, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday, previewing the deal’s launch.
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Congressional leaders are hoping to wrap up the conference reconciling the Senate’s U.S. Innovation and Competition Act and the House’s America COMPETES Act by the Fourth of July, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said on Thursday.
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The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is invoking the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s rapid-response mechanism for a third time, this time calling for a review of “alleged freedom of association and collective bargaining violations” at a Panasonic facility in Mexico.
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Canada is moving forward with changes to its dairy tariff-rate quota system that the Biden administration and the U.S. dairy industry say will not bring it into compliance with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
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FEATURED STORY
The United States and the European Union this summer will launch a “trade and labor dialogue” to engage with labor unions and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic about worker-rights issues.
A weekly overview of the policy moves driving the U.S.-China tech competition
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Following TTC II, optimism -- but more questions -- about U.S.-EU relations
Industry and civil society representatives shared U.S. and European Union officials’ renewed sense of optimism about trans-Atlantic ties during meetings this week of the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council, though they pressed the two sides for more detail -- and concrete commitments -- on efforts in key areas, including semiconductor supply chains and the green transition.
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Future of WTO e-commerce moratorium murky despite industry push
A wide swath of business groups from around the world on Tuesday urged World Trade Organization members to avoid a “historic setback” by successfully extending the moratorium on duties on electronic transmissions, the prospects for which remain uncertain – bordering on bleak – as a few countries continue to raise concerns about it.
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U.S., EU eye export control deal that could focus on chips, include Japan
The United States and European Union hope to reach an agreement on how to best align export control policies targeting key technologies, potentially semiconductors, by the third Trade and Technology Council meeting later this year, according to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who said such a deal could be extended to other countries such as Japan.
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USTR calls for USMCA labor review of Panasonic facility in Mexico
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is invoking the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s rapid-response mechanism for a third time, this time calling for a review of “alleged freedom of association and collective bargaining violations” at a Panasonic facility in Mexico.
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