The U.S. is unlikely to get a free trade deal done with the United Kingdom before the election., U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in written responses to members of Congress. A top British diplomat said in June that was his country's goal (see 2006110044). “While it is possible that an agreement between the United States and the UK could be reached in the next few months, the likelihood of that is low,” Lighthizer wrote. “I am more focused on achieving a comprehensive agreement that delivers real benefits for American workers, farmers, and businesses, rather than achieving a quick deal. That said, our teams are working at an accelerated pace, and I am in regular discussions with UK Trade Minister Elizabeth Truss. We are moving quickly and efficiently, but I will not sacrifice our ambitions for speed.”
Pushing back against geographical indications for food names and wine names needs to be a priority “in all trade-related discussions,” Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., and Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., argued in a letter sent to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on July 30. Fifty-nine other senators joined the letter. Without naming the European Union, they said, “Our competitors continue to employ trade negotiations around the world to prohibit American-made products from using common food names and wine grape varietal designations or traditional terms, such as bologna, parmesan, chateau, and feta, which have been in use for decades.” Farm and agricultural industries issued a press release in support of the letter.
Former U.S. trade representative Bob Zoellick laughed when a webinar moderator asked him how a pro-free-trade consensus can be re-established. Zoellick was on a Carnegie Endowment for International Peace webinar about the future of the global trading system with European Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan June 30. He said those who support free trade have always had a fight, because politics often align with protecting domestic producers from import competition.
Experts disagreed on the utility of the Trump administration approach to World Trade Organization reform, during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on the topic, and senators on the left and right suggested that the negotiated trade rules disadvantage Americans.
Laura Lane, UPS's president of global public affairs, has been promoted to chief corporate affairs and communications officer, the company announced July 28. She will now report directly to CEO Carol Tome, and will oversee public relations, employee communications and the UPS foundation, in addition to public policy and government affairs. Her work background includes serving as a trade negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative during the negotiation of China’s entry to the World Trade Organization.
Spain and France announced that Airbus is going to repay subsidy launch loans at market rates -- Germany and the United Kingdom have already been paid back -- and the European Commission said July 24 that this “removes any grounds for the U.S. to maintain its countermeasures on EU exports and makes a strong case for a rapid settlement of the long-running dispute.” The World Trade Organization ruled last year that Airbus and the four countries were not in compliance with industrial subsidy disciplines, and the U.S. imposed 10% tariffs on Airbus planes and 25% tariffs on various foods and beverages, and some apparel and tools (see 1910020044).
The U.S. and the European Union should be able to “come to a convergence” on seven planks of reform of the appellate body at the World Trade Organization, said Ignacio Garcia Bercero, European Union Visiting Fellow, Oxford University and a chief negotiator at the European Commission. Garcia Bercero, who noted he was not speaking on behalf of the European Commission, was a panelist on a WTO Reform webinar hosted by the Washington International Trade Association July 23.
Michael Nemelka, the nominee for deputy U.S. trade representative, said that the first case under USMCA could begin in the fall, if consultations with Canada or Mexico fail. Nemelka, who currently works as a special adviser to the USTR, said that they are reviewing complaints this month. After that, staff will consult with the congressional committees of jurisdiction about which complaints would make the best cases. Then a consultation process would begin.
House Ways and Means Committee ranking member Kevin Brady, R-Texas, one of the four players directing the shape of a USMCA technical corrections bill, said that the “language was a little different than the intent” when it came to the treatment of foreign-trade zones in USMCA's implementing bill. Brady and the leaders of the Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees see getting a technical corrections bill passed as “a high priority,” he said in a recent interview.
New appointees were named to the Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee and six Agricultural Technical Advisory Committees by the secretary of agriculture and the U.S. trade representative. The 25 appointees will serve until 2024.