TRADE UPDATE

Food & Agriculture
April 30, 2024

By Kristy Goodfellow, Vice President of Trade and Industry Affairs, and Natalie Diez, Trade and Economic Policy Intern

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HIGHLIGHTS

  • US-Mexico:
    • On April 19, government officials met virtually for the U.S.-Mexico High-Level Economic Dialogue (HLED) Mid-Year Review to discuss accomplishments and progress on the dialogue. Most directly relevant to food and agriculture trade, the United States and Mexico highlighted several projects underway to improve and expand border infrastructure.
    • The Florida Tomato Exchange seeks to terminate the current suspension agreement on imports of tomatoes from Mexico and restore antidumping duties. The proceedings will slow down following an April 17 ruling by the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) that the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) must modify which years it included in the recent antidumping duty investigation.
  • Trade Promotion: From April 22-25, USDA’s Trade Under Secretary Alexis Taylor led a trade mission to India with officials from 47 U.S. agribusinesses and 11 state agriculture departments.
  • Environment: On April 16, Senior Advisor John Podesta announced a new White House Climate and Trade Task Force that will focus on developing a 21st century approach to climate and trade policy. U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai stated during her recent Senate Finance Committee hearing that she will be a member of the taskforce.
  • Intellectual Property: On April 25, USTR released its 2024 Special 301 Report, a review of intellectual property (IP) protection and enforcement globally, which included a review of geographical indications.
  • FAO: On April 24, during a presentation of the 2024 Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC), FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu emphasized the importance of addressing food crises.
  • U.S.-Taiwan: USTR announced that the second round of in-person negotiations of the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade will take place in Taiwan, starting April 29.

“But even as we increase investment at home and abroad, there’s still an elephant in the room … one that’s producing a lot of emissions … and that is global trade. We have to take a serious look at our international economic systems, including trade — and harness them for climate action. Our current global trading system was built to promote open and competitive markets — which it has done well — but it wasn’t built to curb emissions. In fact, by many measures, global trade is a huge contributor to the climate problem.”

—John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation, remarks from the Colombia Global Energy Summit

US-Mexico

U.S.-Mexico High-Level Economic Dialogue Mid-Year Review

From Under Secretary Jose W. Fernandez, @State_E on X
  • On April 19, government officials met virtually for the U.S.-Mexico High Level Economic Dialogue (HLED) Mid-Year Review to discuss accomplishments and progress on the dialogue. The last ministerial meeting was held on Sept. 29, 2023.
  • U.S. delegation was led by Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Marisa Lago; Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and Environment Jose W. Fernandez; and Senior Advisor to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Cara Morrow.
  • The dialogue highlights the strong economic partnership between the two countries, emphasizing their reliance on integrated supply chains for global competitiveness.
  • The HLED focuses on four pillars: Building Back Together; Sustainable Economic and Social Development in Southern Mexico and Central America; Securing Future Prosperity; and Investing in Our People.
  • Most directly relevant to food and agriculture trade, the United States and Mexico highlighted several projects underway to improve and expand border infrastructure. 
  • These initiatives aim to foster regional prosperity, expand job creation, promote investment, and reduce inequality and poverty.

U.S. Tomato Suspension Agreement

  • The Florida Tomato Exchange seeks to terminate the current suspension agreement on imports of tomatoes from Mexico and restore antidumping (AD) duties.
  • The U.S. Department of Commerce’s (DOC) proceedings will slow down following an April 17 ruling by the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT), which instructs the DOC to modify the timeline they included in the recent AD duty investigation.
  • An AD investigation was originally requested in 1996, and suspension agreements have been in place since then, with new agreements in 2002, 2008, 2013, and 2019.
  • In 2019, the DOC resumed the investigation at the request of the Florida Tomato Exchange and others.
  • The 2019 DOC investigation found that Mexican producers were dumping tomatoes in the United States by margins of up to 30.48%, at an average of 20.91%.
  • Commerce must now file its new determination on or before Aug. 16 and a joint appendix on or before Nov. 22.

Trade Promotion

Trade Mission to India

  • From April 22-25, USDA Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis Taylor launched a trade mission in New Delhi, India.
  • Taylor was joined by a delegation comprising officials from 47 U.S. agribusinesses and 11 state agriculture departments.
  • According to USDA, recent tariff reductions by India on various U.S. agricultural products have enhanced the prospects for trade.
  • During the trip event, Taylor held media teleconferences with representatives from multiple state agriculture departments to discuss the mission’s developments.
From @USDAForeignAg on X

Environment

White House Climate and Trade Task Force

  • On April 16, Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy and Innovation, John Podesta, announced a new White House Climate and Trade Task Force that will focus on developing a 21st century approach to climate and trade policy.
  • U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai stated during her recent Senate Finance Committee hearing that she will be a member of the taskforce. A full list of members has not been made public.  
  • The three focus areas for the task force, as outlined by Podesta, are:
    • Developing a climate and trade policy toolkit;
    • Ensuring credible data for smart policies; and
    • Identifying ways to support domestic producers.
  • During Podesta’s announcement at a Colombia University Center on Global Energy Policy event, he discussed the role of global trade on emissions; how global trading systems prioritize open and competitive markets; and the global trading rules that incentivize carbon leakage and dumping.
  • Podesta emphasized that the United States aims to position itself as a leader in clean energy while supporting global efforts to reduce emissions.

Intellectual Property

USTR Releases 2024 Special 301 Report

  • On April 25, USTR released its 2024 Special 301 Report, which is a review of intellectual property (IP) protection and enforcement globally.
  • As in previous years, USTR notes it is “working intensively through bilateral and multilateral channels to advance U.S. market access interests in foreign markets to ensure that geographical indications (GI)-related trade initiatives of the European Union (EU), its Member States, like-minded countries, and international organizations do not undercut such market access.”
  • While developing the report, USTR welcomed the submission of comments and held a public hearing.
  • In public comments, the U.S. National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) called on the Biden Administration to “secure firm and explicit commitments assuring the future use of specific generic food and beverage terms targeted by or at risk of EU monopolization efforts.”

FAO

Global Report on Food Crises

  • On April 24, during a presentation of the 2024 Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC), FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu stressed the importance of addressing food crises.
  • DG Dongyu emphasized a concerning trend of protracted food crises and noted the risk of reversing development gains in the wake of COVID-19.
  • DG Dongyu advocated for scaling up agricultural assistance beyond direct food distribution in crisis situations to ensure sustainable solutions.
  • According to the report, 36 countries have consistently faced food insecurity for eight years, indicating the challenge of reversing acute food insecurity.
  • Dongyu outlined three priorities:
    • Balancing traditional humanitarian assistance with agricultural support;
    • Targeting agricultural sectors to reduce emergency distribution needs; and
    • Addressing the root causes of food crises.
Source: 2024 Global Report on Food Crises

U.S.-Taiwan

U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade

  • USTR announced that the second round of in-person negotiations of the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade will take place in Taiwan, starting April 29.
  • USTR did not specify what will be discussed, but noted that the conversation will be within the original negotiating mandate, which included agriculture.
  • The first agreement under this negotiation was signed on June 1, 2023, and included several provisions on customs administration, trade facilitation, good regulatory practices, services, domestic regulation, anticorruption, and small- and medium-sized enterprises.