Resource Center
Agriculture
USTR's Office of Agricultural Affairs has overall responsibility for negotiations and policy coordination regarding agriculture. Staff works with the Chief Agriculture Negotiator and other USTR officials as appropriate.
Specific responsibilities include Free Trade Agreements (FTA) and World Trade Organization (WTO) Development Agenda (Doha) negotiations on agriculture, operation of the WTO Committees on Agriculture and on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures, agricultural regulatory issues (e.g., biotechnology, cloning, BSE, nanotechnology, other bilateral SPS issues, and customs issues affecting agriculture), monitoring and enforcement of existing WTO and FTA commitments for agriculture (including SPS issues), and WTO accession negotiations on agriculture market access, domestic supports and export competition, and SPS matters.
The office monitors U.S. implementation of Farm Bill programs to ensure consistency with international obligations in the WTO, and also is responsible for policy coordination of U.S. activities in agriculture committees of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
3/10/2010
USTR Kirk Comments on "Constructive" Meeting with House Trade Working Group
3/8/2010
USTR Statement on Awards in Brazil Cotton Dispute
3/4/2010
3/3/2010
USTR Holds Hearing on Intellectual Property Protection and Enforcement
3/1/2010
3/1/2010
2010 Trade Policy Agenda and 2009 Annual Report
12/31/2009
2009 Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) Report
7/24/2009
Report to Congress on U.S. Equipment Industry Access to the Galileo Program and Markets
6/30/2009
Report on Bolivia and Ecuador with Regard to the Andean Trade Preference Act
5/13/2009
Memorandum of Understand Between U.S. and EU on Beef Dispute
3/12/2010
3/9/2010
Remarks by United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk at the National Press Club
3/3/2010
Remarks by Ambassador Miriam Sapiro at the Special 301 Public Hearing
3/3/2010
Testimony of Ambassador Ron Kirk Before the Senate Finance Committee
2/25/2010
Remarks by Ambassador Marantis Before the Georgetown University Law Center
Softwood Lumber
Resolution Overview
Consistent with the terms of the Agreement, as amended, the United States and Canada will end a large portion of the litigation over trade in softwood lumber, and unrestricted trade will occur in favorable market conditions.
When the lumber market is soft, as it is currently, Canadian exporting provinces can choose either to collect an export tax that ranges from 5 to 15 percent as prices fall or to collect lower export taxes and limit export volumes. The agreement also includes provisions to address potential Canadian import surges, provide for effective dispute settlement, distribute the antidumping and countervailing (anti-subsidy) duty deposits currently held by the United States, and discipline future trade cases.
An industry-led bi-national working group will also be established under the agreement to discuss provincial policy reforms.