USTR

“All of a sudden everything picked up. So we had line-by-line discussions on Thursday and Friday, and then it was extended to Saturday and Sunday. So I have to tell you, the progress has been terrific.”

Despite instructions from the House Appropriations Committee in a government funding package signed by the president earlier this month, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Wednesday signaled that a product-exclusion process for tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods would be instituted only if the 10 percent tariffs are increased to 25 percent.

The USTR testifies that the administration is feeling “real urgency” in light of CPTPP and the EU-Japan trade deal.

President Trump announced on Friday that the U.S. and China had reached an agreement on “currency manipulation” in trade talks that were extended through the weekend, predicting that a “real” deal was more likely than not.

The Feb. 27 hearing will come after U.S. and Chinese officials hold meetings in Washington, DC, this week.

The report was originally set to be submitted to USTR by Jan. 24.

Citing concerns with drug patenting and pricing practices, industry groups are urging the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to keep Colombia and Canada on its list of most egregious intellectual property violators this year, which would require USTR to launch action plans for each country.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative could suspend India's Generalized System of Preferences benefits as soon as this month, further complicating prospects for a U.S.-India trade deal, according to reports and sources familiar with bilateral talks.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s annual report to Congress on China’s compliance with World Trade Organization rules dismisses the reform efforts of a handful of WTO members because it says their proposals do not adequately address the threat China’s economic model poses to the multilateral trading system.