Trade Agreements

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On January 15, 2019, President Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He signed the long-awaited “phase one” trade deal at the White House. The deal represents the first step towards a comprehensive agreement between the two nations and progress in the U.S.-China relationship. The deal will help ease trade tensions signaling a truce in the…

Last week, the United States and China reached an agreement on the long-awaited “phase one” trade deal.  The deal, originally announced in October, will include tariff reductions by the United States and a $200 billion increase of U.S. good purchases by China. According to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, the 86-page agreement is currently…

On December 10, the U.S., Mexican, and Canadian governments signed an updated United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (“USMCA”) in Mexico City.  The new agreement comes on the heels of months of additional negotiations between the three governments after an original deal was reached last year.  The terms of the new deal respond to criticism that the agreement…

On Tuesday, as “phase one” of the trade negotiations between the U.S. and China nears completion, the Wall Street Journal reported that the interim agreement would not only deter new tariffs, but lessen existing tariffs.  However, the “phase one” agreement reportedly will not include language regarding forced technology transfers.

China’s practice of forcing U.S. companies…

China and the United States continue to move towards finalizing a “phase one” trade deal. Speaking to the Economic Club of New York, President Trump stated that the United States is “close” to a deal and that it “could happen soon.” The President was also quick to note that he would only accept a deal…

On Friday, October 11, 2019, President Trump announced that a “phase one” agreement had been reached with China. Most notably, the U.S. agreed to suspend its plan to increase tariffs from 25% to 30% on $250 billion in Chinese goods, which had been scheduled for October 15. In return, China has agreed to purchase between…

On October 7, USTR Robert Lighthizer and Ambassador Shinsuke Sugiyama signed both the U.S.-Japan Digital Trade Agreement and the U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement. President Trump praised the agreements, stating “[t]hese two deals represent a tremendous victory for both of our nations.  They will create countless jobs, expand investment and…

On September 25, the United States and Japan reached an initial trade deal to lower certain tariff barriers between the two trading partners.  This initial agreement improves market access for certain agricultural and industrial goods and, according to the President, will open markets to approximately $7 billion in U.S. agricultural products.  The Fact Sheet released…

What happens next in British politics could mean a significant shift in the United Kingdom’s trade ties with the United States – but the hurdles are many and the process to reach results could be lengthy. Voting in the Conservative Party leadership contest closes today, with the winner and successor to UK Prime Minister Theresa May to take up position on 24 July. The two Tory leadership rivals, former foreign secretary Boris Johnson and the incumbent foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, both have been calling to strengthen the U.S.-UK “special relationship” as they vied for the support of 160,000 Conservative Party members. Frontrunner Boris Johnson has pledged to seek an ambitious UK-U.S. trade deal as one of his first acts in office. This would be good news for the more than 40,000 U.S. companies exporting to and operating in the UK, many of which are negatively impacted by uncertainty over Brexit and the possibility of an economic rupture between the UK and the European Union. If – as expected – UK Prime Minister Theresa May hands over the reins to Boris Johnson in two days, a highly topical question will be how his premiership might fare in securing a U.S.-UK trade deal.

On the U.S. side, there is strong political support by the Trump Administration and some Members of Congress for a U.S.-UK trading alliance. Several steps already have been taken to strengthen the Anglo-American trading relationship and mitigate negative impacts of Brexit. In February this year, a U.S.-UK Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) was concluded, which rolls over relevant aspects of the existing U.S.-EU MRA, covering electromagnetic compatibility, telecommunication equipment and good manufacturing practice of pharmaceuticals. U.S.-UK agreements on derivatives and insurance also have been agreed. These would take effect immediately after the UK exits the EU in an EU-UK “no deal” Brexit scenario or at the end of a transition period in a “deal” scenario. UK-U.S. preliminary talks on a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) spanning the last two years, however, have failed to show any meaningful progress and are considered to be deadlocked. Should the UK leave the EU without a deal at the end of October, World Trade Organization (WTO) terms would govern U.S.-UK trade until such time as a trade deal is agreed.

Much hinges on the UK’s post-Brexit trading relationship with the EU, which still remains a priority for the UK. As Boris Johnson pursues hardline rhetoric on Brexit, insisting both that the current EU-UK deal needs to be renegotiated – which EU leaders reject – and that the UK will leave the EU on the scheduled date of 31 October 2019, with or without a deal, it is difficult to predict how the UK-EU trading relationship will unfold in the coming months. …
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The ongoing WTO aircraft subsidy disputes, resulting in both EU and U.S. retaliatory tariff announcements, and the failing EU-U.S. trade agreement negotiations certainly have strained trade relations. Nevertheless, there appears to be some hope of reaching a trade deal before the end of the European Commission’s term in October. As currently outlined, the trade agreement…