Timely news and analysis of the latest developments in international trade law
Key Notes:
…
Top trade officials from the United States, Canada and Mexico will resume negotiations over revisions to NAFTA this week in an effort to finalize an agreement. Reports indicate that while progress has been made, a number of issues remain, including rules of origin pertaining to automobiles, dispute settlement, government procurement and labor.
All parties agree…
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has released its annual report on significant foreign trade barriers, providing an inventory of the most important foreign barriers affecting U.S. exports of goods and services, foreign direct investment by U.S. persons and protection of intellectual property rights. The term “trade barriers” does not have a fixed definition but is broadly defined by the USTR as government laws, regulations, policies or practices that either protect domestic goods and services from foreign competition, artificially stimulate exports of particular domestic goods and services, or fail to provide adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights. The report classifies foreign trade barriers into 10 different categories, including import policies, government procurement, export subsidies, lack of intellectual property protections and service/investment barriers.
Continue Reading USTR Releases 2018 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers
On the eve of the State of the Union, 35 Republican Senators sent a letter to President Trump reaffirming their belief in the benefits of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). They urged the president to keep NAFTA in place but supported efforts to modernize the trade agreement. Overall, the letter extols the value…
While the sixth round of negotiations among trade officials from Canada, Mexico and the United States proceeded in Montreal last week on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the nonpartisan Business Roundtable released an economic analysis concluding that termination of NAFTA would have a significant net negative impact on the U.S. economy and employment.…
Upon the conclusion of the fifth round of renegotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer issued the following statement:
“While we have made progress on some of our efforts to modernize NAFTA, I remain concerned about the lack of headway. Thus far, we have seen no evidence that…
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has released an updated summary of U.S. objectives for the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The new objectives update the previous objectives published in July (see our July 18, 2017 update), and come after four rounds of negotiations among the United States,…
After four rounds of negotiations, the United States, Canada and Mexico are beginning to express frustration concerning the discussions and proposals to revise and update the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). In an October 17 joint statement, the parties indicated that they have put forward “substantially all initial text proposals” but that these…
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and Mexican Secretary of the Economy Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal have started the first round of NAFTA renegotiation in Washington, D.C. with opening statements and an ambitious agenda that is scheduled to take the negotiations through August 20.
In his opening statement, Lighthizer indicated…
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has announced that the first round of renegotiation of the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) will occur August 16-20, 2017 in Washington, D.C. Reportedly, the plan is to hold seven rounds of talks at three-week intervals, at alternating sites among the three countries, with a goal…
