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The U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 to address climate change issues by establishing a carbon emissions cap and trade program. It includes international trade provisions to avoid “carbon leakage” that would occur if U.S. manufacturing activities move to other countries with lower carbon reduction standards. The debate has been begun on whether the program would be WTO legal. President Obama is likely to get some friendly guidance on the issue at the Group of 8 leaders meeting next week. 
Monsanto Company announced they have completed regulatory submissions in Brazil for its first insect-protected biotech soybeans. Insect pests have not been a major economic issue in the U.S. for soybean producers and Monsanto has focused on insect resistance in corn and cotton where U.S. producers do face economic losses. While Monsanto is a U.S. company and the U.S. has the largest acreage in the world for corn and soybeans, it is seeking out other areas where biotechnology can be adapted to meet specific local needs.
The BRIC countries, Brazil, Russia, India and China, recently met in Yekaterinburg, Russia to discuss common concerns including moving away from the U.S. dollar as the default reserve currency. Chinese government officials have talked about this repeatedly in recent months. While the idea could be of benefit for the U.S. and other countries, actually doing something that would make a real difference would not be easy. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), at the end of last year the U.S. dollar accounted for 64 percent of central bank reserves..jpg)
In late May India, the world’s largest democracy, had national elections and the ruling Congress Party will continue leading the nation, but with less need to make deals with smaller parties to maintain power. The government has named a new Minister of Commerce and Industry, Anand Sharma, who also serves as Trade Minister. Since India was one of the stumbling blocks in the Doha Round of WTO trade policy negotiations, a round of speculation has developed about a possible change of positions by the Indian government..jpg)
U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk is in St. Petersburg, Russia leading the U.S. delegation at the 13th annual International Economic Forum. He is part of a panel discussion on strengthening the role of international cooperation and opposing protectionism. Ambassador Kirk and EU Representatives will talk to their Russian counterparts about its application to join the WTO. According to the USTR’s office, Russia’s unscientific bans on U.S. pork, beef, and poultry are high on his issues list.
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