The United Kingdom and Indonesia held the second round of a “trade review” last week to discuss increasing trade and investment to recover from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, a July 24 news release said. The U.K. said the two sides made “excellent progress” on a “wide range of sectors,” including pharmaceuticals, energy and technology. Natalie Black, the U.K.’s trade commissioner for the Asia Pacific, said the U.K. hopes its trading relationship with Indonesia expands opportunities with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and other countries in Southeast Asia.
The United Kingdom and India agreed to an “enhanced” trade relationship that could lead to a comprehensive free trade deal, the U.K.’s Department for International Trade said July 24. The two sides agreed to work toward removing a range of trade barriers, including U.K. export restrictions on pears and apples. The U.K. said it hopes to remove Indian trade barriers on the food, healthcare, information technology and chemicals sectors. “At this stage we want to keep all options on the table,” U.K. International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement, “including the possibility of a free trade agreement at some point in the future.”
China and Cambodia concluded negotiations on a free trade agreement, China said in a July 20 notice, according to an unofficial translation. The two countries intend to sign and ratify the deal this year (see 2006190009), which would increase market access for a range of goods and services and improve regulatory alignment between the two governments. China also said the deal would improve rules of origin procedures and customs processes and remove a range of technical trade barriers.
The U.S. and Japan expanded their organic trade arrangement to include livestock products, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said July 14. The move will reduce costs and streamline processes for U.S. exporters involved in organic livestock supply chains by requiring only one organic certification, the USTR said.
In testimony in Canada's House of Commons, former government chief negotiator Steve Verheul told politicians that there is no surge in Canadian aluminum exports to the U.S., so a return to 10% tariffs on Canadian exports is not warranted. He said the product mix shifted, but the total exports are not up.
Chile, Singapore and New Zealand recently signed an agreement to improve trade cooperation and streamline customs procedures in the digital economy, a July 7 Hong Kong Trade Development Council report said. The deal, signed last month, requires the three countries to make all trade administration documents available online and establishes a single window through which companies can submit import and export documents “through a single entry point,” the HKTDC said. The agreement also improves a range of customs measures, including expedited processing for express shipments, where the countries’ customs authorities will release certain goods with minimum documentation. The authorities will also release certain express shipments within six hours of receiving the required customs documents regardless of the shipment’s weight or value, the report said, and allow a single submission of information for all goods contained in an express shipment.
United Kingdom Secretary of State for International Trade Elizabeth Truss said negotiations with the U.S. on a free trade agreement so far have been “positive and constructive,” and she sees a way forward for the deal. “I think it is possible to protect our red lines, protect our regulatory independence, whilst opening markets,” she said.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Kenya Secretary for Industrialization, Trade and Enterprise Development Betty Maina released a joint statement on the formal launch of free trade negotiations.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce praised the beginning of U.S.-Kenya trade talks July 7 in Nairobi. Scott Eisner, president of the U.S.-Africa Business Center at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, issued a statement that said: “A deepening U.S.-Kenya commercial relationship will benefit the U.S., Kenya, and the entire African continent. It is our hope that when complete, the agreement will not only be the first of its kind between the U.S. and a sub-Saharan African country, but also lay the groundwork to strengthen and deepen our relationships with economies across the continent by providing the necessary legal protections and enduring, reciprocal trade. With the African Growth and Opportunity Act set to expire in 2025, a Kenya free trade agreement will provide American businesses the certainty they need to continue investing in this growing market.”
A letter from 41 trade groups -- including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the U.S.-China Business Council, and others in information technology, apparel, agriculture and pharmaceuticals -- asks both Chinese and American lead negotiators to “redouble efforts to implement all aspects of the Agreement, including purchases of U.S. manufactured goods, energy products, services, and agricultural goods, where implementation seems to be lagging.”