USTR

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders on Monday called for the acceleration of negotiations over World Trade Organization reform and identified an “urgent need” for members to enhance digital trade cooperation.

The U.S. is relying on incomplete information in its analysis of Vietnam’s currency practices, according to the chief economist of the state-owned Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam.

The coronavirus pandemic has made removing barriers to digital trade all the more urgent, technology groups have told the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

President-elect Joe Biden has named an “agency review team” to assess the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative ahead of the inauguration and ensure a “smooth transfer of power,” according to his transition team.

Americans for Free Trade says “having a predictable, fair, and transparent product exclusion process is vital to creating a modicum of certainty for American businesses.”

The Section 332 request is the latest move by the Trump administration to address the complaints of seasonal and perishable produce growers.

The Commerce Department has preliminarily determined that tire producers from Vietnam received unfair subsidies, marking the first time an affirmative countervailing duty determination has been issued in responses to a country’s currency practices.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is prepared to take action to enforce the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said on Tuesday, citing a conversation with USTR Robert Lighthizer last week.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer’s decision to maintain Indonesia’s benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences has been met with relief in Jakarta.