Bilateral trade: Businesses hope for smoother US-China linkage

Negotiations can lower barriers by encouraging foreign investment

WASHINGTON: US businesses are hoping for a pledge from American and Chinese officials at talks in Chicago next week to move ahead quickly on a planned investment pact between the two countries. Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade meetings on December 16 through 18 are aimed at smoothing out snags ranging from beef exports to currency manipulation in a trade relationship worth more than $600 billion a year.

Although there will be no formal negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty, lobbyists hope officials will build on leaders’ recent commitments to speed up talks.

“We hope there is a positive statement about their intent to continue to move those negotiations forward as quickly as possible,” said US-China Business Council Vice President Erin Ennis.



A treaty would help lower investment barriers by limiting the sectors in which foreign investment is restricted, which currently range from soybean crushing to telecommunications. “Those negotiations loom large in the background of the joint commission in terms of China opening its market much wider to foreign investment,” said Jeremie Waterman, the US Chamber of Commerce executive director for China.

US Trade Representative Michael Froman said the next step would be China’s offer on excluded sectors in early 2015. “We are encouraging them to ensure that the list is as short and as narrowly tailored as possible,” he said.

As the talks begin, Commerce is due to announce the final ruling in a trade dispute over solar panel and cell imports from China and Taiwan. That decision could sour the mood by confirming duties that would almost triple the cost of some products.

But Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, speaking on the same call as Froman, said she did not expect any impact on discussions, which will be led on China’s side by Vice Premier Wang Yang. US officials also plan to keep up pressure on China’s protection of trade secrets and antitrust laws, which have been criticised for lacking transparency and targeting foreign companies, said Froman. 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 14^th, 2014.

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