U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Deputy USTR Jayme White headed to Cancun, Mexico, to meet with Mexican Economy Secretary Raquel Buenrostro and Canada's trade minister, Mary Ng, ahead of the official USMCA Free Trade Commission meeting on July 6.

The European Council has approved a free trade agreement with New Zealand, with an expectation it will be signed "later on," the council said June 27. The FTA would "liberalise and facilitate trade and investment, as well as promote a closer economic relationship," the council said, noting bilateral trade is expected to rise 30% after the FTA is signed. The deal would eliminate all tariffs on "key EU exports to New Zealand such as pigmeat, wine and sparkling wine, chocolate, sugar confectionary and biscuits," enshrining nondiscriminatory treatment for EU and New Zealand investors, boosting access for government procurement contracts and preempting data localization requirements, the council said. The council said it will request the European Parliament "consent to the conclusion" of the agreement, which also requires New Zealand's ratification.

The U.S. and India announced a deal June 22 that will end India’s retaliatory tariffs on some U.S. goods while leaving in place the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs that prompted them, and also end six World Trade Organization disputes brought by both the U.S. and India.

The U.S. asked for formal dispute settlement consultations with Mexico over its policies on biotech products, but did not commit to moving forward with a panel request if the consultations are not fruitful within 75 days. That's the earliest a panel could be requested under USMCA.

The Australia-U.K. Free Trade Agreement officially took effect May 31, Australia announced, allowing more than 99% of Australian goods to enter the U.K. duty free and eliminating Australian tariffs on more than 98% of U.K. goods (see 2303270011). Australia called the agreement a “gold standard trade deal,” saying it will benefit Australian industrial goods, electrical equipment and fashion items by eliminating tariffs on those items, and will impose duty free transitional quotas, “with eventual elimination of all tariffs,” on Australian beef, sugar, dairy and more.

Trade groups representing major exporters -- including the American Chemistry Council, the National Association of Manufacturers, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and agricultural interests -- are telling the Biden administration that they are disappointed that regulatory barriers to trade are not being addressed in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said she and Australia’s Trade Minister Don Farrell, meeting on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation trade ministers' meeting, agreed the negotiations on the trade pillar of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity have been constructive.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai brought up China's nonmarket approach to trade, and how it causes "critical imbalances," according to a readout of her May 26 meeting with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao.

The U.S. and Taiwan completed five chapters of a trade agreement similar to the issues under discussion in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, the U.S. announced late May 18.

Some supply chain agreements in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework may be announced in May, according to officials at the Asia Society Policy Institute, and the institute held a webinar May 3 and released a paper with recommendations of how to shape the supply chain pillar ahead of those announcements.