An ad hoc coalition of agricultural and food organizations led by the National Pork Producers Council is urging Congress to establish criteria for revoking a country’s tariff-free access to the U.S. market if it fails to give U.S. products treatment consistent with international trade rules. The coalition also weighed in on renewing beneficial trade treatment for African nations that restrict U.S. imports.

SALT LAKE CITY – Chief negotiators from the 12 countries of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations set the stage Sunday for next month’s ministerial meeting, ending their talks aimed at sifting through as many thorny issues as possible. Details of the talks are not yet clear but negotiators are believed to have made progress in some fields, such as government procurement, while among others, gaps apparently remain over market access for goods and intellectual property.

Washington — A dozen U.S. senators. including Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, on Monday urged the Commerce Department to protect steelmakers from Chinese trade practices. The Commerce Department imposed tariffs on Chinese dumping in 2008 and 2009 and is now deciding whether they can avoid tariffs and penalties in the production of some steel pipes used for the oil industry. The issue is if the steel pipes can be sent to a third country to undergo “minor finishing” like heat treating and avoid tariffs.

A coalition of agricultural and food organizations is urging Congress to establish criteria for revoking a country’s tariff-free access to the U.S. market if it fails to give U.S. products treatment consistent with international trade rules.  In a letter to Congress, the coalition reminded the congressional members that “barriers to U.S.

The European Union dropped a threat to impose anti-subsidy tariffs on Argentinian and Indonesian biodiesel after approving five-year levies to counter below-cost, or “dumped,” imports from both countries. The EU closed a probe into whether Argentinian and Indonesian biodiesel exporters receive trade-distorting government aid. The step removes the possibility of anti-subsidy duties by the 28-nation bloc on imports of biodiesel from Argentina and Indonesia.

Nov 25 (Reuters) - Marathon talks on the World Trade Organization's first-ever worldwide trade reform in Geneva failed early on Monday to agree on a text to put to ministers who meet in Bali next month. The fate of the agreement to streamline customs procedures and speed up global trade could now hang on whether the ministers can overcome remaining differences when they gather early next month at the WTO's biennial conference in Bali.

The World Trade Organization Monday set up a panel to settle a bitter dispute between Russia and the European Union over car import duties imposed by Moscow. Trade sources said that the Geneva-based body had approved the EU's request to set up an independent panel of trade experts tasked with deciding whether Russia was breaking global trade rules due to its controversial recycling fee, which applies only to imported vehicles.

Egypt has issued a decree to lift anti-dumping duty on imported steel after authorities concluded investigations that show there is no harm on domestic steel from more imports, the Ministry of Trade and Industry has said. The decree came after 12 Egyptian steel makers had submitted an appeal in September 2012 to the Trade and Industry Ministry due to worries that more steel imports may cause deterioration in steel domestic market.

(Reuters) - Canada and Norway failed to overturn a European Union ban on their seal products on Monday when the World Trade Organization ruled the bloc had a right to outlaw imports of the furs on moral grounds. Canada said it would appeal against the WTO decision, and that any public opposition to its seal trade was based on "myths and misinformation". Many animal rights groups have long said the commercial killing of seals and their pups for fur and other products is cruel.

Susan Sell is a professor of political science at George Washington University, who has carried out landmark research on international negotiations over intellectual property. Below is her response to five questions about the intellectual property chapter of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, which the Obama administration has been negotiating with trading partners behind closed doors. A draft of the chapter was leaked to WikiLeaks two days ago. The draft TPP text was kept secret from the general public. Who has seen it and why?