On March 10, 2018, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), Robert Lighthizer, the European Union (EU) Commissioner for Trade, Cecilia Malmstrom, and the Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry of Japan, Hiroshige Seko met in Brussels to discuss non-market oriented policies and practices that lead to overcapacity, unfair competition, and hinder innovation.
The officials agreed to several joint actions to address the concerns, such as:
- Developing stronger rules regarding industrial subsidies;
- Enforcing existing WTO rules;
- Working within the WTO towards improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the WTO monitoring function;
- Intensifying information-sharing on trade-distortive practices.
The officials plan to meet again in Paris to discuss their progress.
The USTR press release may be found here:
