USTR

After speaking with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Thursday, Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) said the two were on the same page on changes that must be made for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement to receive support from Democrats.

After a nine-year hiatus, the countries “discussed a broad range of issues, including bilateral trade and investment flows, cooperation projects, intellectual property aspects related to trade, investment issues, and trade in agricultural and fishery products.”

The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission is recommending that Congress review with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative the possibility of initiating cases at the World Trade Organization challenging Chinese trade abuses using the rarely cited non-violation clause of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is considering opening an investigation into Chinese labor practices, eyeing the use of the Section 301 statute already employed to justify massive tariffs on Chinese goods, sources tell Inside U.S. Trade.

The Association for Accessible Medicines, AFL-CIO, AARP, Blue Cross Blue Shield and others say the deal could “exacerbate the problem of high prescription drug prices.”

A joint proposal on transparency issued by the United States, European Union, Japan, Argentina and Costa Rica would strip members of the World Trade Organization of their rights in the body if they fail to live up to the notification commitments prescribed in the WTO agreements.

The U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum, slated for this week, has been delayed as trade talks between the two countries have failed to generate enough momentum to justify a tentative plan for U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to travel to New Delhi, sources told Inside U.S. Trade.