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What's the latest on the Transpacific Partnership Agreement?
Reading the recent smoke signals suggests that breakthroughs have been made and negotiations are well along toward the end game. Japan, which would be the biggest prize in the Agreement for all the countries involved, especially for the U.S., is being coy responding to the concessions demanded of it. However, it's likely that it will announce some concessions, particularly in agricultural products and automobiles, after the U.S. Congress agrees to give President Obama Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), allowing the Executive Branch to negotiate agreements subject to an up or down vote by Congress.
Japan will be more willing to announce concessions if its government knows that Congress is not going to ask for more or different concessions or other changes after the negotiations are completed.
The President faces opposition on TPP and TPA from members of his own party, some of whom believe that free trade agreements lead to net job losses in the U.S. while already rich corporations get richer. There's some truth to this view but it's far from the whole story. We at WPG believe that trade agreements, especially the two big ones being negotiated now, are a net benefit for the U.S. workers and for their counterparts in other countries. They protect workers rights and the environment, while opening markets that have been closed to U.S. companies while the U.S. market remains open to competitors.
Look for TPA to pass later in the year after a good deal of noise and arm-twisting. Some Democrats will join Republicans in voting for the measure, which will make it filibuster proof. The President won’t veto the legislation, partly because his views on the benefits of free trade agreements for U.S. companies and the U.S. economy have changed.
Who signs the North American Free Trade Agreement? I'm told that the producer can sign it even if the producer is not the exporter.
Wrong. Only the exporter should sign the certificate of origin. Exporters ask producers all the time to sign the certificate. They can't. If you are the producer and the exporter you can prepare and sign the certificate, a PDF of which can be found here.
https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/aes/exporttraining/videos/nafta_cert_of_origin.pdf
I'm told a generic certificate of origin can be used for shipments from the U.S. to Israel. Is this accurate?
No. Like NAFTA, when the U.S.-Israel Free Trade Agreement was negotiated many years ago, part of the deal involved the requirement that importers and exporters use a specific certificate of origin called the green form. The form is available from select vendors and the cost is about $100 for 200 copies. But you only need a few, you contend. Sorry, they are only available in the packet. But since there are no fees involved, the 100 bucks is not such a big deal, especially when the sale or purchase is a good deal for you. Blank certificates are available from Unz and Company. unzco.com/forms/certoforigin.htm#Israel
Is it true that the U.S. Chamber is out of the generic certificate of origin issuing business?
Yes. Before discussing alternatives to the Chamber, it's important to define generic. In this blog we've discussed two other kinds of certificates of origin, both of which are required and both of which pertain to different markets. A third geographical
area is the Arab Gulf region. Countries in this region require a certificate of origin issued by the U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce.
You are correct. As of January 5, the U.S. Chamber no longer issues certificates from its Washington, DC office. Many local chambers, which are funded by local businesses through membership fees, will continue to issue them. Another alternative to the Chamber is ecertify (www.ecertify.com), an online service endorsed by the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives. There is a nominal fee for the service, and certificates are accepted by Customs authorities worldwide as far as we can tell.
| Product Model | Inside Diameter | Outside Diameter | Thickness |
| HK2538ZWD NTN | 25 | 32 | 38 |
| BK2526 NTN | 25 | 32 | 26 |