On October 19, 2020, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published in the Federal Register a notice advising the public that, pursuant to delegated authority, the USTR is requiring the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration (SBA Advocacy) to delay submission of the report to Congress on the economic impacts on small businesses of the United States-Kenya trade agreement until negotiations conclude. The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act…
USTR has posted an advance copy of a notice to be published in the Federal Register that announces the U.S. Trade Representative’s determination to grant certain exclusion requests to the $200 Bn action against certain products from China, as specified in the Annex to the notice, and corrects technical errors in previously announced exclusions. The exclusions are reflected in one 10-digit HTSUS subheading, which covers one exclusion request, and 176 specially prepared product descriptions, which…
On March 23, 2020, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published in the Federal Register a notice [Docket No. USTR–2020–0011] advising the public that on March 17, 2020, the USTR notified Congress of the Administration’s intent to enter into negotiations with the Republic of Kenya (Kenya) for a U.S.-Kenya trade agreement. The USTR is seeking public comments on a proposed U.S.-Kenya trade agreement, including US interests and priorities, in order to develop…
On 21 February, 2019, the Department for International Trade (DIT) issued guidance entitled, Existing trade agreements if the UK leaves the EU without a deal, which sets out the status of those agreements (free trade agreements, economic partnership agreements, association agreements and customs union) that may not be in place by exit day. It also links to trade agreements that have been signed and mutual recognition agreements that have been signed.
As we reported on March 30, 2018, 44 African governments signed onto the legally-binding Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) during an extraordinary AU summit this past March. The AfCFTA is intended to lead to greater economic integration between African countries and drive continental economic growth.
On May 23, 2018, the US Foreign Agricultural Service in Addis Ababa reported that in May, Kenya and Ghana ratified the AfCFTA, while other countries, like Rwanda, Niger, and Ethiopia, have indicated they will ratify soon. The report said, in part:
On June 20, 2017, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), in consultation with the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC), published in the Federal Register a notice [Docket No. USTR–2017–0008]
Member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are required under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement) to report to the WTO all proposed technical regulations that could affect trade with other Member countries. The WTO Secretariat distributes this information in the form of “notifications” to all Member countries. The chart below summarizes notifications from the WTO in English received and posted by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) during the past month.