Trade

By Randy Gordon, President and CEO The European Union (EU) on April 15 approved its terms for negotiating a new trade agreement with the United States, voting to limit the talks solely to eliminating tariffs on industrial goods, expressly excluding negotiations on agricultural products. The four-page mandate issued by the EU Council contains binding directives for its negotiators. EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström indicated the EU hopes to conclude negotiations within six months. Elections for the European Parliament are scheduled for May 23-26, with a total of 751 members from 28 ... Read More

By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) on April 18 released a report assessing the expected effects on the U.S. economy of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and concluded the trade deal would modestly increase U.S. trade with both USMCA partners and the world. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer touted the ITC’s projection that USMCA would increase U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) by $68.2 billion – or 0.35 percent – more than double the ITC’s estimate of economic growth that would have ... Read More

The World Trade Organization (WTO) announced on April 18 that one of its dispute settlement panels has ruled in favor of a U.S. claim that China has administered its tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) for wheat, corn and rice inconsistently with its WTO commitments. As part of its accession agreement when joining the WTO, China pledged to adopt tariff-rate quotas in a transparent, predictable and fair manner. But the WTO panel found China had failed to meet those commitments, which ultimately resulted in China failing to meet its TRQ commitments. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that if ... Read More

By Randy Gordon, President and CEO U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer and his Japanese counterpart, Economic Revitalization Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, completed two days of initial talks on April 16 on a new bilateral trade accord. In a four-paragraph statement issued by the USTR’s Office, the two sides “reaffirmed their shared goal of achieving substantive results” consistent with the joint statement issued by President Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sept. 26, 2018. In that joint statement, the two heads of state pledged to produce “early achievements,” ... Read More

By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media Before President Donald Trump on April 4 delayed a decision on closing the U.S.-Mexico border, the NGFA joined associations representing a range of U.S industries to caution against imposing restrictions that would delay the cross-border movement of commercial goods. Earlier this week, the president threatened to shut down the border if Mexico didn’t control the flow of migrants and drugs crossing into the United States. But on April 4, he announced he would give Mexico one year to address the problem, and likely would ... Read More

President Donald Trump projected that an “epic” trade deal with China could be reached  within four weeks during a White House Oval Office meeting on April 4 with Chinese Vice Premier and lead negotiator Liu He. While remarking that the two sides have “agreed to far more than we have left to agree to,” Trump said he was not ready yet to announce a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping to finalize an agreement. “If we have a deal, there will be a summit,” he said. “I would say we’ll know within the next four weeks or maybe less or maybe more…”  At other points during the Oval ... Read More

By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media and Randy Gordon, President and CEO In recent meetings with the White House, Senate Republicans urged President Donald Trump not to impose new tariffs on auto imports, which they say could trigger a recession ahead of the 2020 election. The push comes as many senators also are urging Trump to lift Section 232 steel and aluminum “national security” tariffs  on Canada and Mexico. Congress still must approve the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) that is intended to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, ... Read More

By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media President Donald Trump indicated his eagerness to seek comprehensive, bilateral free trade agreements with U.S. trading partners, including Japan, in the 2019 Economic Report of the President published March 19. The report specifically mentioned ongoing discussions with China, the European Union and Japan, and said the administration plans to begin negotiations with the United Kingdom as soon as it leaves the EU. Trump’s report referred to Japan's tariffs on American beef and pork. “Japan imposes a variable system of ... Read More