Brett Fortnam

The Trump administration this week allowed a national emergency with respect to Hong Kong that revoked the city’s “special status” to lapse – a move China said was agreed to during bilateral trade talks in Madrid, Spain, last September. The State Department, however, said the city should still be treated as part of mainland China. President Trump in July 2020 issued an executive order that declared a national emergency with respect to Hong Kong because of actions China took “to... Not a subscriber?

Discussions about how the World Trade Organization will be reformed should be based on proposals submitted by members rather than abstract questions, U.S. Ambassador to the WTO Joseph Barloon said at a General Council meeting this week. WTO General Council Chair Clare Kelly, New Zealand’s WTO ambassador, last month laid out an ambitious slate of reform meetings focused on three areas: decision-making, development and leveling the playing field.

Signatories to the Electronic Commerce Agreement cannot treat the plurilateral as if it is part of the World Trade Organization’s framework, U.S. Ambassador to the WTO Joseph Barloon said this week as the U.S. joined a chorus of members in questioning the countries’ efforts to implement the agreement. “[D]espite the proponents’ efforts, consensus has not been reached to make the [joint statement initiative] text a WTO plurilateral agreement,” Barloon said at a General Council meeting.