On June 30, 2016, the Defense Acquisition Regulations System, Department of Defense (DoD) published in the Federal Register a final rule [Docket DARS–2016–0022] amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to add Ukraine as a new designated country under the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement (GPA). The GPA entered into force for Ukraine on May 18, 2016. The United States, which is also a party to the GPA, has agreed to waive…
On 29 June 2016, the Official Journal published Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1047 of 28 June 2016 amending Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff which amended the Common Nomenclature (CN) to implement Council Decision (EU) 2016/971, which provides for an elimination or a reduction of customs duties for a certain number of products covered by the WTO Declaration on the Expansion…
The WTO announced on 22 April 2016, that WTO members held their first discussions regarding implementation of the Ministerial Decision on Preferential Rules of Origin for Least Developed Countries (LDCs). The Ministerial Decision was one of the key outcomes of the WTO’s 10th Ministerial Conference in Nairobi last December. The provisions set out under the Nairobi Decision aim to facilitate least-developed countries’ export of goods to both developed and developing countries under unilateral preferential trade…
On 18 April 2016, the WTO announced that the Committee on the Information Technology Agreement (ITA), at a meeting on 18 April 2016, heard reports about current preparations for implementation of the Nairobi Ministerial Declaration on the Expansion of Trade in IT Products. The declaration established that the first set of tariff cuts were to be implemented on 1 July 2016 and the second set no later than 1 July 2017, with successive reductions taking…
The WTO announced that on 3 March 2016, India notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) Secretariat that it has initiated a WTO dispute proceeding against the United States regarding measures imposing increased fees on certain applicants for two categories of non-immigrant temporary working visas into the US, and measures relating to numerical commitments for some visas. According to India, the measures appear to be inconsistent with US commitments under the General Agreement on Trade in…
On 23 February 2016, the World Trade Organization (WTO) announced that South Africa deposited its instrument of acceptance for the 2005 protocol amending the WTO’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) on 23 February 2016, becoming the fourth WTO member to do so in 2016. The announcement stated: Thailand (on 28 January), Mali (on 20 January) and Lesotho (on 4 January) are the other three members that have accepted the amendment this…
On December 19, 2015, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said that important steps were taken at the 10th WTO Ministerial Conference to help the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement enter into force. In a Fact Sheet, USTR stated: The United States welcomes the progress made leading up to, and during, the 10th Ministerial Conference by Members towards entry into force and implementation of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA).…
On December 17, 2015, the Canadian Government issued a News Release stating that the Hon. Chrystia Freeland, Minister of International Trade, together with the Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie, announced that Canada will provide funding to help developing countries implement the World Trade Organization’s (WTO’s) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). The TFA will reduce trade costs and create conditions that will help move the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people out…
On 19 December 2015, the WTO announced that WTO members concluded their Tenth Ministerial Conference in Nairobi on 19 December by securing an historic agreement on a series of trade initiatives. The “Nairobi Package” pays fitting tribute to the Conference host, Kenya, by delivering commitments that will benefit in particular the organization’s poorest members. The announcement said in part: The Nairobi Package contains a series of six Ministerial Decisions on agriculture, cotton and issues related…
On December 18, 2015, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) published in the Federal Register a notice of intent to conduct an environmental review of the proposed Environmental Goods Agreement and request for comments. USTR, through the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC), is initiating an environmental review of the Environmental Goods Agreement (EGA), a plurilateral trade agreement currently being negotiated among 17 members of the World Trade Organization (WTO), including the United…