Australia, New Zealand and the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations completed negotiations this week to upgrade the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement. The upgrade will “strengthen and improve” the trade deal with new provisions on electronic commerce, competition, customs procedures, trade facilitation, rules of origin and more, Australia said. It also will “support traders to conduct business in the region, particularly when it comes to completing documentation -- everything from origin certification to invoicing requirements,” the country said.

Australia will host the first in-person negotiating round for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework in Brisbane, starting Dec. 10. "This will be an important opportunity to identify areas of consensus and continue developing the four IPEF pillars," Office of the U.S. Trade Representative spokesman Adam Hodge said. The round is scheduled to last through Dec. 15.

The U.S. and Ukraine will negotiate to update the United States-Ukraine Trade and Investment Cooperation Agreement, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said after meeting Nov. 9 with Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister-Minister of Economy Yuliia Svyrydenko.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said the U.S. and Taiwan had two days of productive meetings this week, exchanging views on what needs to be addressed in trade facilitation, good regulatory practices, anticorruption, small and medium-sized enterprises, agriculture, standards, digital trade, labor, environment, state-owned enterprises, and non-market policies and practices.

The U.S. and Taiwan will hold in-person "conceptual discussions" on the U.S.-Taiwan trade initiative in New York Nov. 8-9. The trade initiative (see 2208180042) is similar to the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, in which Taiwan isn't a participant.

Although President Joe Biden criticized the Trump administration tariffs on Chinese imports during his campaign, and although his treasury secretary repeatedly said they contribute to inflation and some of them are harmful, trade lobbyists for UPS and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said the tariffs are largely here to stay.

The Alliance for Trade Enforcement, a coalition of trade associations and business groups, says the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity needs effective dispute settlement to fulfill its promise for American exporters.

U.S. politicians are sending a mixed message on trade with Taiwan, experts said during an event hosted by the Hudson Institute, a right-of-center think tank mostly focused on foreign policy.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai drew a distinction between 35% tariffs on Russian goods, which she said are designed to punish that country's war of aggression, and 25% (or 7.5%) tariffs on Chinese goods, which she said are not punishing tariffs.

African Growth and Opportunity Act benefits for Kenya need to continue as any trade partnership is formed, commenters said, especially the third-country fabric rule of origin.