U.S. ambassador: Vietnam could act soon on TPP

With help from Doug Palmer and Victoria Guida

U.S. AMBASSADOR: VIETNAM COULD ACT SOON ON TPP: Vietnam’s National Assembly could ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership either in July or October with an eye toward “systematically — and occasionally slowly — moving toward implementation,” U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius said Wednesday.

The process of implementing a plan to comply with the TPP’s labor obligations will take place in “partnership with us, with other TPP members and with the private sector,” the ambassador added, “because the private sector has lots to gain from full implementation of all of the TPP commitments, and particularly the labor commitments.”

“I don’t think the process will be easy, but I think the political will is absolutely there to complying fully with what Vietnam agreed to in TPP, especially on the labor provisions,” Osius said in remarks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Osius said the TPP requirement for Vietnam to allow the formation of labor unions was actually welcomed by officials in the country’s ruling Communist Party. Vietnam is required to initially allow workplace-specific unions and within five years allow those unions to affiliate nationwide across a specific industry and form federations and confederations of unions of various industries. Workers have engaged in thousands of “wildcat” strikes and many in the government saw the prospect of engaging with organized unions advantageous, he said.

IT’S THURSDAY, JUNE 9! Welcome to Morning Trade, where on this day in 1898, China signed a treaty giving Britain control over Hong Kong for 99 years. Got any good trade news to share? Let me know: [email protected] or @abehsudi.

U.S. CRIES OVER SPILLED MILK AT WTO: The U.S. ratcheted up the pressure against a number of Canadian dairy policies by complaining about them this week at a June 7-8 WTO agriculture committee meeting, according to a trade official in Geneva.

The U.S., along with Norway, Switzerland and New Zealand, said Canada failed to consult other members when it reallocated about 800 tons of its cheese quota to the European Union as part of its free-trade agreement with the 28-nation bloc. U.S. dairy producers have argued they should be compensated for the reallocation, which was pulled from the original 20,000 ton quota Ottawa agreed to establish under the terms of its WTO accession.

The U.S., Australia and New Zealand also questioned the Canadian dairy industry’s decision to allow Canadian cheesemakers to buy skim milk at more competitive world prices. The U.S. industry has argued that the pricing policy is a direct response to an increase in U.S. exports of protein-rich ultra-filtered milk, which cheesemakers use and can enter Canada duty free. Domestic milk prices in Canada are generally higher than the world market because the government restricts supply. Canada, at the meeting, said the new price policy addresses potential imbalances in the market and would not have a significant impact on overall imports of milk proteins.

CANADA LOOKS SOUTH: Canada has signed a landmark agreement to boost ties with the Pacific Alliance, a group of four Latin American countries. Some experts see the partnership as a regional backup plan for trade integration if the TPP fails to go into effect.

“Canada has supported the Pacific Alliance since its inception, as well as its collaborative approach to promoting trade and investment,” Canadian Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a statement Wednesday.

Canada and the United States already have free-trade pacts with each of the four Pacific Alliance members. But “rationalizing Canada’s series of bilateral agreements with the Alliance countries into one set of rules would create a new large-scale, multi-party regional trade agreement that would provide some of the benefits that would be expected under the TPP,” a recent report by the Canada West Foundation said.

The declaration signed Wednesday identifies six areas for increased cooperation: trade facilitation and promotion; education and training; small and medium-size enterprises; science, technology and innovation; responsible natural-resource development and corporate social responsibility; and the environment.

STEELWORKERS ENDORSE CLINTON: Presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton picked up a labor union endorsement from the United Steelworkers, Pro Labor’s Brian Mahoney reports.

“The executive committee of the 860,000-member union unanimously endorsed Clinton in a meeting Wednesday afternoon. It was joined by two smaller unions in backing Clinton, the Utility Workers Union of America and the Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics and Allied Workers International Union.”

“Now that it has become clear who the two major nominees will be,” said USW International President Leo Gerard, “we are excited to put our full support behind electing Secretary Clinton.”

EU PARLIAMENT APPROVES ITA EXPANSION: The European Parliament on Wednesday approved revisions that will cut tariffs on an additional 201 new products under the 1996 Information Technology Agreement. The vote was 529 in favor and 110 against, with 37 abstaining. The revised agreement now moves on to the European Council, which will finalize the ratification by publishing it in the official journal of the European Union. The expansion of the ITA was finalized at the WTO ministerial round in December in Nairobi. The first tariff cuts under the deal will go into force July 1.

TRANSATLANTIC FOOTWEAR IMPORTERS TEAM UP: Ahead of next month’s TTIP round, U.S. and EU footwear groups are calling on their governments to knock down barriers to footwear exports in the bilateral trade deal by eliminating tariffs, harmonizing labeling and safety testing, streamlining customs procedures and including flexibility in the rule determining a product’s country of origin.

The American Apparel and Footwear Association, the European Confederation of the Footwear Industry, and Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America signed their joint statement at a product safety conference hosted by the Fashion Institute of Technology, where Consumer Product Safety Commissioner Joseph Mohorovic delivered remarks. The CPSC is a key regulator that is participating in the TTIP regulatory talks on textiles and footwear, which are progressing though neither side has tabled formal texts.

“It’s terrific to see the U.S. and European footwear industries join hands to promote shared product safety standards and approaches,” Mohorovic said in a press release accompanying the groups’ joint statement. Click here to read the statement.

COMMERCE FINALIZES IMPLEMENTATION OF CHINA CVD CASE: The Commerce Department announced how it will recalculate countervailing duties faulted in a WTO case brought by China, according to a notice to be published in today’s Federal Register. In the rule, Commerce will alter CVD rates on line pipe, oil country tubular goods, magnesia bricks and seamless pipe. CVDs on 11 other cases where the WTO found fault have already been changed in accordance with the ruling.

A WTO panel initially ruled that Commerce erred in how it calculated whether Chinese firms received a subsidy. The original WTO panel found that Commerce didn’t adequately make the case that the Chinese state-owned enterprises could be considered “public bodies” — a point the U.S. did not appeal. Under WTO rules, a subsidy is defined as a financial contribution from a public body that benefits a specific company, group of countries or region. The Appellate Body said Commerce didn’t do enough to prove that this criteria was fully satisfied in a dozen of the 17 cases at issue. The WTO didn’t find fault in two of the cases.

INTERNATIONAL OVERNIGHT

— A senior Thai official said the government wouldn’t allow imports of genetically modified plants if the country were to join TPP, The Nation reports.

— Labor is seeking to unseat Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz in Florida’s August primary by supporting her Democratic opponent, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

— German Chancellor Angela Merkel tries to lower expectations for TTIP, saying a final deal would be dependent on whether it benefits Europe, Reuters reports.

— Japan is pressing India and Vietnam to remove safeguards on steel imports, Nikkei Asian Review reports.

THAT’S ALL FOR MORNING TRADE! See you again soon! In the meantime, drop the team a line: [email protected] and @ABehsudi; [email protected] and @vtg2; [email protected] and @tradereporter; [email protected] and @mjkorade; and [email protected] and @JsonHuffman. You can also follow @POLITICOPro and @Morning_Trade.