The Treasury Department has posted the International Monetary Fund's concluding statement from its recent evaluation of the U.S. economic performance and policies. Among other things, the IMF forecasts GDP growth of 3¼% in 2010 and about 3% in 2011, with inflation very low, and unemployment remaining above 9%.
The Treasury Department has issued a statement welcoming the European Parliament's consent on July 8, 2010, by a wide margin, to the revised U.S.-EU agreement on the processing and transfer of financial messaging data for the purposes of the Treasury Department's Terrorist Finance Tracking Program (TFTP).
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls has posted the presentations from the July 7, 2010 Plenary Meeting of the Defense Trade Advisory Group.
The Office of the U.S.Trade Representative is providing notice of country-by-country allocations of a second additional fiscal year 2010 in-quota quantity of the tariff-rate quota for imported raw cane sugar in the amount of 272,155 metric tons raw value in specified amounts to 25 countries. (See ITT's Online Archives or 07/08/09 news, 10070804, for previous BP summary.)
The International Trade Administration announces that the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board will hold a meeting to discuss topics related to the travel and tourism industry on July 26, 2010. The agenda for the meeting includes discussion efforts in the Gulf region and other topics.
Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Liser recently concluded her two-day visit to Ghana, where she met with senior government officials and private sector representatives to discuss the importance of the U.S.-Ghana trade relationship. Liser also co-chaired with Ghanaian Trade Minister Hannah Tetteh the sixth meeting of the U.S.-Ghana Trade and Investment Council, under the U.S.-Ghana Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, which was signed in 1999.
U.S. Trade Representative Kirk announced that the U.S. will contribute $1.05 million for trade-related technical assistance (TRTA) to the World Trade Organization. The WTO’s TRTA program provides training for developing countries that enhances their ability to analyze issues, assess their interests and participate effectively in the negotiations. The program also provides these nations with assistance in meeting their WTO obligations and ensures they fully benefit from the results of WTO negotiations.