Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said April 17 she’s concerned that a host of upcoming elections around the world could fuel harmful sentiment against international trade.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai gave testimony April 17 to the Senate Finance Committee regarding President Joe Biden’s 2024 trade policy agenda. She touched mainly on trade deal enforcement, U.S. exporters’ access to new markets and the USTR’s new stance on digital trade, though she also discussed issues such as forced labor and the upcoming legislation on the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program.
The annual report on foreign trade barriers, which covers intellectual property, agricultural exports and e-commerce, as well as all other goods and services, highlighted non-tariff barriers to ag exports, such as sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures that are not based on science, burdensome facility registration requirements, and barriers to poultry in countries affected by highly pathogenic avian influenza that are not justified by the risk, in the U.S. view.
The Bureau of Industry and Security is looking to expand its validated end-user program, which it hopes will allow more U.S. exporters to sell products to credible foreign customers without having to first apply for a license, said Thea Kendler, the agency’s assistant secretary for export administration.
India earlier this month signed a trade and economic partnership deal with the European Free Trade Association, which is expected to expand market access between the two sides and simplify customs procedures. The deal will make it “easier for Indian and EFTA businesses to expand their operations in the respective markets,” said the EFTA, which includes Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
The U.S. this week sanctioned six entities, one person and two tankers that have helped ship goods and facilitate financial transactions on behalf of the Iranian military, the Iran-backed Houthis and Hezbollah. The Office of Foreign Assets Control said they are tied to sanctioned Houthi financial facilitator Sa’id al-Jamal (see 2403060017).
India and the U.S. told the World Trade Organization that they reached a solution in the U.S. dispute on India's tariff measures on certain agricultural products, the WTO announced. India and the U.S. resolved six other disputes last year (see 2306230038), the WTO noted.
The State Department fined Boeing $51 million after the company allegedly violated a range of U.S. export controls, including license requirements for exports to China and Russia. The violations, which Boeing voluntarily disclosed, included illegal exports to foreign employees and contractors working in more than 15 countries; a trade compliance specialist fabricating an export license to illegally ship defense items abroad; and violations of the terms and conditions of other export licenses, among other things.