Trade

U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators reconvened Friday for a final day of scheduled trade talks this week, with reports that the two countries are developing a series of memoranda of understanding to codify agreements to resolve long-festering trade irritants. There were reports that after more than nine hours of talks on Thursday, negotiators continued work on developing agreements in principle on structural reforms and potential enforcement mechanisms on intellectual property protection, forced technology transfers, cyber theft, currency manipulation, agriculture, services and non-tariff ... Read More

The ongoing, tedious negotiations between the United States and China to resolve long-festering trade disputes are scheduled to resume next week in Washington following this week’s discussions in Beijing, China. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement issued today that this week’s “detailed and intensive discussions led to progress…(but) much work remains.” Meanwhile, China’s state-owned news agency Xinhau said the two countries had reached a “consensus in principle” on some issues, and that the two sides had discussed a potential memorandum ... Read More

By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media Canada and Mexico are unlikely to ratify the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) unless the United States lifts its tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, emphasized this week. “The Senate in Mexico is not going to take it up until the tariffs are off,” Grassley said during a Feb. 12 media call. “The House of Commons in Canada’s not going to take it up if it’s not there soon after March 1 and it’s not going to be there unless the tariffs are off. And even ... Read More

U.S. and Chinese officials concluded two days of what U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer described as “very intense and very long,” but “productive” trade negotiations on Jan. 31. In a statement issued by the White House, the U.S. delegation said the talks covered “a wide range of issues,” including: 1) the ways U.S. companies are pressured to transfer technology to Chinese firms; 2) the need for stronger protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in China; 3) numerous Chinese tariff and non-tariff trade barriers confronted by U.S. exporters; 4) Chinese cyber-theft ... Read More

By Max Fisher, Director of Economics and Government Relations The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released its negotiating objectives for a United States (U.S.)-European Union (EU) Trade Agreement, insisting that agriculture be included in any new trade deal. Historically, the EU has excluded substantive discussion on agricultural market access in trade discussions and now is attempting a similar approach with the Trump administration. President Trump announced on July 25 that he and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker had agreed to work together to ... Read More

By Max Fisher, Director of Economics and Government Relations The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) recently released its negotiating objectives for a U.S.-Japan trade agreement, as the United States and Japan are expected to begin discussions early this year. USTR said its goal in the negotiations with Japan is to address both tariff and non-tariff barriers and to achieve fairer, more balanced trade. For trade in agricultural goods, USTR outlined the following objectives: Secure comprehensive market access for U.S. agricultural goods in Japan by reducing or ... Read More

By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Jan. 8 extended the deadline for producers to apply for trade mitigation payments designed to assist farmers suffering economic harm from trade retaliation by foreign nations in response to President Trump’s imposition of tariffs. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Market Facilitation Program (MFP) payments are delayed due to the federal government shutdown that began in December. The original deadline to apply had been Jan. 15, 2019, but farmers have been unable to do so since ... Read More

By Randy Gordon, President A U.S. trade delegation departed Beijing, China, on Jan. 9 after three days – including one extended day – of in-person talks with their Chinese counterparts after making what one participant said was some progress in addressing long-festering trade issues between the two countries. A statement issued Jan. 9 by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said that U.S. and Chinese officials discussed “ways to achieve fairness, reciprocity and balance in trade relations” between the two countries, as well as “the need for any agreement to provide for ... Read More

By Randy Gordon, President A U.S. delegation led by Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish is scheduled to depart this weekend for Beijing to resume in-person trade talks with Chinese counterparts. The U.S. delegation also is scheduled to include Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs David Malpass and USDA Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Ted McKinney, among others. McKinney will be accompanied by a small USDA contingent, which is expected to focus on the importance of removing non-tariff barriers to Chinese imports of U.S. agricultural ... Read More

By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) launched the second and final round of trade mitigation payments designed to assist farmers suffering economic harm from trade retaliation by foreign nations in response to President Trump’s imposition of tariffs. Producers of certain commodities now will be eligible to receive Market Facilitation Program (MFP) payments for the second half of their 2018 production. “While there have been positive movements on the trade front, American farmers are continuing to experience losses due ... Read More