House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., decried what he called "fake trade deals that lack the force of law," at a field hearing in Kimball, Minn., the district of committee member Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R), and called on the Biden administration to negotiate lower barriers to U.S. beef, pork and poultry in the U.K., Taiwan and other countries in Asia.
A free trade agreement between the EU and New Zealand, signed July 9, is expected to grow trade between the parties by 30% within 10 years, the commission said. The deal would eliminate all tariffs on EU exports to New Zealand, open the New Zealand services market in "key sectors," establish nondiscriminatory treatment for European investors, boost access for New Zealand government procurement, facilitate data flows, halt data localization requirements and strengthen intellectual property rights, the commission said.
Canada and Mexico talked about the panel ruling on auto rules of origin -- a decision that went their way but that the U.S. has chosen not to implement -- and Canada brought up the issue with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai as well, according to readouts from Mexico and Canada about the bilateral meetings July 6 ahead of the official Free Trade Commission meeting in Cancun, Mexico.
Sens. Tom Carper, D-Del., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., are asking their colleagues to vote to encourage the administration to negotiate with other countries to lower or eliminate tariffs on pharmaceutical products and medical devices, and the U.S. would do the same. Their bill authorizes these sorts of changes.
The European Commission on June 30 created two new tariff-rate quotas for steel goods released for free circulation in Northern Ireland from other parts of the U.K. The new TRQs, under the bloc's steel safeguard regulation and effective July 1, will allow Northern Ireland companies to use the EU's steel TRQs to access British-origin steel in the two categories without paying the 25% tariff, the commission said.
The World Trade Organization is responsible for too many agreements, leading to fracturing coalitions and insufficient oversight, University of Arizona law professor Bashar Malkawi said in an International Economic Law and Policy Blog guest post. For the trade body to "survive as a meaningful entity," member nations should be willing to largely ditch the "consensus style of negotiations and agreements" and embrace a system operating largely under majority or super-majority votes, Malkawi suggested.
The EU's steel safeguard measure will not be prematurely terminated, the European Commission announced. All tariff-rate quotas under the safeguard, which expires June 30, 2024, will be increased by 4% as of July 1, the commission said. The decision was made after an investigation on whether terminating the duties early was justified.
The European Council has approved a free trade agreement with New Zealand, with an expectation it will be signed "later on," the council said June 27. The FTA would "liberalise and facilitate trade and investment, as well as promote a closer economic relationship," the council said, noting bilateral trade is expected to rise 30% after the FTA is signed. The deal would eliminate all tariffs on "key EU exports to New Zealand such as pigmeat, wine and sparkling wine, chocolate, sugar confectionary and biscuits," enshrining nondiscriminatory treatment for EU and New Zealand investors, boosting access for government procurement contracts and preempting data localization requirements, the council said. The council said it will request the European Parliament "consent to the conclusion" of the agreement, which also requires New Zealand's ratification.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and the committee's top Republican, Mike Crapo of Idaho, asked President Joe Biden to press India on an array of trade irritants for U.S. exporters, including sanitary and phytosanitary restrictions that discriminate against growers, restrictions on biotechnology, and high tariffs on agriculture imports, including "apples, blueberries, cherries, dairy, nuts, pears, chickpeas, lentils, potatoes, and alcoholic beverages."
The U.S. and Mexico have been consulting about U.S. complaints about favoritism to Mexican energy providers for 11 months, with no public movement toward a dispute settlement panel, and Karen Antebi, a former NAFTA negotiator, said she doesn't expect that to change in the next year.