USTR

Having dealt with longstanding U.S. market-access concerns, Taiwan is hoping to initiate trade negotiations before the end of the year, Taipei’s envoy to the U.S., Bi-Kuhn Hsiao, told Inside U.S. Trade this week.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s new plan to address the complaints of southeastern seasonal growers about their Mexican counterparts is “politically motivated” and positions the U.S. as an untrustworthy trading partner, the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, which represents importers of Mexican produce, said on Wednesday.

Two PIIE analysts take on the USTR's recent Wall Street Journal op-ed.

Jeffrey Gerrish, who until last month was the deputy U.S. Trade Representative for Asia, Europe, the Middle East and industrial competitiveness, said the U.S. and China to date have been able to resolve a slew of issues at the technical level without resorting to their phase-one deal’s enforcement mechanism.

A limited bilateral trade deal between the U.S. and India can be concluded any time the U.S. wishes, Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday.

Witnesses at the Trump administration’s recent hearings on the impact of seasonal produce imports from Mexico on the U.S. industry presented no real evidence that investigations or restrictions would be justified, a Mexican official told Inside U.S. Trade on Thursday, saying the issue has become “political” in an election year.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Friday announced the country would ease restrictions on U.S. beef and pork imports, which she called a “precondition” for a U.S.-Taiwan trade agreement.

USTR Robert Lighthizer and Vietnamese Minister of Trade and Industry Tran Tuan Anh co-chaired the virtual meeting.

European Union Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan resigned on Wednesday amid increasing controversy surrounding his breach of Irish pandemic restrictions in attending a golf society event last week.