International TradeNewsletter - April 12, 2002
In this Issue...
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR)
April 12, 2002
- The USTR
has released its 2002 annual inventory of trade barriers. The report stresses
the growth of such non-tariff barriers as regulations, customs practices and
sanitary standards. For example, Canadian wheat subsidies, Mexican telecommunications restrictions, and Japanese health
restrictions on apple imports are among the major items cited as barriers in
this year's report. A copy of the report is available at
http://www.ustr.gov/reports/nte/2002/index.htm. Bound copies of the report are available from USTR's Office of Public Affairs.
- The USTR has republished the notice, originally published in February, of
its 2002-2003 threshold levels for application of the WTO Government Procurement
Agreement (GPA) and Chapter 10 of NAFTA. Under these agreements, the
United States has committed to permit signatories to the GPA and NAFTA members to
compete for specified government-issued contracts that exceed the U.S. dollar
threshold levels identified at
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2002_register&docid=R2-4120-filed.
Questions relating to the implementation of NAFTA Chapter 10 may be directed to
Karissa Kovner, USTR Director for International Procurement Negotiations at 202-395-3063.
- The USTR has determined that Ghana has adopted an effective visa system and related procedures to prevent unlawful
transshipment and use of counterfeit documents in connection with the shipment
of textile and apparel articles under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
Ghana is also making substantial progress toward implementing required AGOA
customs procedures. Consequently, imports of eligible products from
Ghana now qualify for the textile and apparel benefits provided under AGOA.
- The Industry Sector Advisory Committee on Small and Minority
Business (ISAC-14) will hold a meeting on April 22, 2002, from
9 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. The meeting will be opened to the public from 9 a.m. to
10:15 a.m. and from 12:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. During the open portion of the meeting, discussion will include: a briefing on
the congressionally led SME Trade Working Group; and updates from U.S. Customs
Service on current topics of interest to Small Business, the recent activities
of the APEC Small Business Working Group, the Free Trade Agreement of the
Americas (FTAA), and the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The meeting
will be closed to the public from 10:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The meeting will be held in Training Room A of the Ronald
Reagan Federal Building located at 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W.,
Washington, D.C. For further information contact Sylvia Prosak (principal
contact) or Pam Wilbur/Kelly Parsons (alternates) at 202-482-4792 or
Elizabeth Gianini at 202-395-6120.
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-gin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2002_register&docid=02-8331-filed.
- The USTR and the Department of Commerce have announced that they are
currently accepting nominations to fill vacancies for two-year terms on the
Industry Sector Advisory Committees on Trade Policy (ISACs) and Industry
Functional Advisory Committees on Trade Policy (IFACs). Requests for
applications should be sent to: Director of the Industry Consultations Program,
U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th and Constitution Avenue,
Room 2015-B, Washington, D.C. 20230. The vacancies are for the following ISACs
and IFACs:
- Aerospace Equipment (ISAC 1)
- Capital Goods (ISAC 2)
- Chemicals and Allied Products (ISAC 3)
- Consumer Goods (ISAC 4)
- Electronics and Instrumentation (ISAC 5)
- Energy (ISAC 6)
- Ferrous Ores and Metals (ISAC 7)
- Footwear, Leather, and Leather Products (ISAC 8)
- Building Products and Other Materials (ISAC 9)
- Lumber and Wood Products (ISAC 10)
- Nonferrous Ores and Metals (ISAC 11)
- Paper and Paper Products (ISAC 12)
- Services (ISAC 13)
- Small and Minority Business (ISAC 14)
- Textiles and Apparel (ISAC 15)
- Transportation, Construction, Mining, Agricultural Equipment (ISAC 16)
- Wholesaling and Retailing (ISAC 17)
- Customs (IFAC 1)
- Standards (IFAC 2)
- Intellectual Property Rights (IFAC 3)
- Electronic Commerce (IFAC 4)