Wendy Cutler, the lead negotiator for the Trans Pacific Partnership, and James Green, who was the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's senior official in China, are questioning whether a new European Union-China investment agreement will undercut the united front President-elect Joe Biden wants on Chinese economic abuses.
Witnesses overwhelmingly argued against tariffs on Vietnamese imports, during a virtual hearing Dec. 29 hosted by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, with numerous business representatives saying it was the choice not to sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership, not any kind of currency issue, that makes it harder for U.S. exports to penetrate Vietnam. Trade groups representing importers from Vietnam noted that their members moved sourcing from China to Vietnam precisely to avoid Section 301 tariffs, and some said putting comparable tariffs on Vietnamese imports would cause companies to relocate back to China.
The United Kingdom and Canada agreed to transitional measures to maintain the flow of goods after the U.K. leaves the European Union Jan. 1, the U.K. said Dec. 22. The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding that will maintain tariff-free trade for companies exporting goods that are eligible for preferential treatment under the UK-Canada Trade Continuity Agreement (TCA), which is expected to take effect early in 2021, the U.K. said. The MOU will also maintain tariff rate quotas and rules of origin for products covered under the TCA.
In an interview with the BBC, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said that finishing the U.S.-United Kingdom free trade deal should be palatable to the next administration, with its language around labor standards and climate change, but U.K. resistance on agriculture standards is one of the obstacles to getting it finished in the next month. “We're both leaders in the world on digital trade, on financial services. And I think we could do an awful lot to write the rules together, the best rules together,” he said, according to a story published Dec. 17. “There's a short period of time they're going to have to try to wrap this up. But I think it's something that can happen. It'll require compromise on both sides.”
A small deal that would restore India's Generalized System of Preferences benefits is something that U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal have made headway on, Lighthizer said while speaking to the Confederation of Indian Industry. “My guess is we are not far away from a deal like that. Keep in mind, obviously, we have a political change going on over here and that’s going to be a bit of a setback, certainly, to the extent that I can facilitate that, which I would be happy to do it, but there is going to be some changes and my guess is that is going to slow things up,” he said Dec. 16 during an online interview.
The U.S. and the United Kingdom signed a Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement meant to “further enhance bilateral efforts to secure and facilitate lawful trade,” CBP said in a Dec. 16 news release. “This new agreement will further enhance the U.S.-UK partnership by improving information sharing, strengthening the enforcement of our customs laws, and bolstering supply chain security while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade,” acting CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan said.
Tomas Baert, head of trade and agriculture at the European delegation in Washington, said the European Union is looking for a “strong and united front with the United States” on trade as the region and the world recover from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Baert, who was speaking on a webinar Dec. 15 hosted by the European American Chamber of Commerce, said that while the Trump era was marked with “turbulence and tension” in trade, Europe feels like it escaped mostly unharmed, since there were not “massive tariffs” imposed on exported cars, trucks and auto parts, as was threatened.
The talks to open up Brazil's market to U.S. ethanol (see 2010200018) have failed, domestic ethanol groups said, calling it “a dramatic turn in our bilateral trade relationship.” The U.S. Grains Council, the Renewable Fuels Association, the National Corn Growers Association and Growth Energy put out a joint statement Dec. 16: “Brazilian ethanol receives unfettered access into the U.S. market, while U.S. producers are denied reciprocal market access due to a restrictive import tariff designed solely to make U.S. product less competitive,” the groups said. “We urge the incoming [Joe] Biden Administration to respond with strength, leveraging various U.S. government tools and authorities to make it clear that protectionist barriers are unacceptable.” They said that Brazil exported about 96 million gallons of ethanol to the U.S. since May, and the U.S. has only exported about 4 million gallons under the previous tariff rate quota regime.
A new report summarizing town halls convened by Farmers for Free Trade says the elimination of the steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada and Mexico “went a long way toward stabilizing these export markets,” and that grain prices have recovered, but that more free trade deals are critical to support farmers and rural economies. The report, released Dec. 15, was highlighted in a webinar.
The United Kingdom signed a continuity trade agreement with Singapore and plans to sign another with Vietnam to continue trading with both countries once the U.K. leaves the European Union at month's end, a Dec. 10 news release said. The U.K. said the deals will “deepen” its trading relationships in the Indo-Pacific and bring it a “step closer” to joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership. U.K. Trade Secretary Liz Truss called the deals “vital for the U.K.’s future as an independent trading nation” and said they “lock in billions of pounds worth of trade.”