U.S., China make headway on trade

U.S., China make headway on trade    U.S. trade negotiators said they have reached a number of agreements with China to help make American shippers more competitive in the Asian market.
   During the 21st session of the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade in Washington this week, China agreed to significant initiatives in several areas, including intellectual property rights enforcement, open and neutral technology standards, clean energy, and government procurement.
   China also agreed not to discriminate in government procurement based on the origin of intellectual property or to use discriminatory criteria to select industrial equipment.

Kirk

   'These commitments will have systemic consequences for the protection of U.S. innovation and creativity in China,' said U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, in a statement. 'We expect to see concrete and measurable results, including increased purchase and use of legal software, steps to eradicate the piracy of electronic journals, more effective rules for addressing Internet piracy, and a crackdown on landlords who rent space to counterfeiters in China.'
   China said it would continue to investigate and shut down fake express delivery services Web sites established in China. Both countries have committed to share ideas in the area of express delivery services supervision.
   The United States and China explored opportunities to further develop China's capacity to recycle discarded electronics and implement regulations related to facilitate this trade. China estimates it produced 1.7 million tons of electronic scrap in 2006, a number that could increase to about 5.4 million tons by 2015.

Vilsack

   In addition, China agreed to resume talks on beef market access the week of Jan. 3. 'I am pleased with the progress made today towards resolving our differences on beef access. Technical talks will resume as soon as possible with the goal of reopening China's market in early 2011,' said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
   China has lifted avian influenza-related bans on poultry from Idaho and Kentucky. The United States asked China to take prompt action to lift four other state-level poultry bans.
   The United States and China also signed seven new agreements covering agricultural collaboration, soybean exports, statistics, and promotion of investment in the United States.
   Established in 1983, the JCCT is the main forum for addressing bilateral trade issues and promoting commercial opportunities between the United States and China. ' Chris Gillis