U.S. Will Not Table Texts On Tobacco, SPS Enforceability At TPP Round

U.S. Will Not Table Texts On Tobacco, SPS Enforceability At TPP Round
テキトー訳つき、昨日の報告、ＳＰＳ関連が注目点の様子

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Inside US Trade Daily News
U.S. Will Not Table Texts On Tobacco, SPS Enforceability At TPP Round
Posted: March 4, 2013
アメリカは（第16 回）シンガポール交渉で，タバコとSPS 強制性についての条文提案
をしな
い意向
The United States will not table new legal language related to tobacco regulat
ions or the enforceability
of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) commitments at the Trans-Pacific Partnersh
ip (TPP) negotiating
round that kicked off… today (March 4) in Singapore, although it does plan o
n exchanging new market
access offers with TPP partners at the round, according to a spokeswoman for t
he Office of the U.S.
Trade Representative.
USTR 広報官によれば，アメリカはシンガポールで今日始まるTPP 交渉では，タバコ規
制とSPS
約束の強制性に関する新たな提案を行なわない。しかし新たな市場アクセスのオファー
交換は
行なう計画である。
Although USTR will not table new text on SPS enforceability, the spokeswoman m
ade clear that the
administration has vetted ideas related to its SPS proposal with stakeholders
and plans to informally
discuss these ideas with TPP partners in Singapore. “The U.S. has consulted cl
osely with Congress and
stakeholders on ideas of how to resolve SPS trade barriers,” she said. “We exp
ect to discuss these ideas
and ideas of other TPP partners in Singapore.”
同広報官は，USTR はSPS 強制性に関する新たな条文は提案しないものの，アメリカ政
府はSPS
提案（SPS による貿易障壁除去のための）についての考えをステークホルダーと綿密に
検討し，
その考えをTPP 交渉国と非公式に議論するつもりであることを明言した。
U.S. agriculture and food industry groups have pressed USTR to strengthen its
current SPS proposal by
making the commitments contained in it — including those that go beyond World
Trade Organization
rules — fully enforceable, meaning they would be subject to dispute settlemen
t procedures. But USTR
has hesitated in light of misgivings from other agencies in the Obama administ
ration (Inside U.S. Trade,
Aug. 3).
アメリカの農業・食品産業団体は，現在のSPS 提案に含まれる約束に－それはWTO ルー
ルを
上回るものを含むが－完全な強制性を持たせるために，同提案を強化するようUSTR に
圧力を
かけてきた。それはSPS ルールを紛争解決手続きの下に置くということを意味する。し
かし
USTR は政府の他の省庁からの懸念（※食品医薬品安全庁などが自分の手を縛られるの
を懸念）
から，なおそれに踏み切れないでいたものである。
Agriculture sources this week said they expected USTR to present new ideas on
SPS enforceability at
this round. But they agreed that, in general, USTR still appears hesitant to m
ake SPS commitments fully
enforceable under normal TPP dispute settlement procedures, and may informally
propose something
short of that.
Another open question is whether USTR will take up an industry proposal for a
so-called rapid-response
mechanism (RRM) that would offer companies a new route to press TPP countries
to resolve SPS
barriers or technical barriers to trade (TBT) that adversely affect U.S. agric
ultural exports.
いまひとつ未回答の問題は，アメリカ農産物輸出を阻害するSPS 貿易障壁やTBT 技術障
壁に
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てついて，関連企業がTPP 相手国に圧力をかけるための新たな道を開く所謂「即時対応
メカ
ニズムRRM」という農業業界の提案をUSTR が取り上げるかどうか，である（※さらにこ
ん
な強引な要求までしているとは知らなかった）。
Sources in January said USTR appeared favorably inclined toward the RRM propos
al ( Inside U.S.
Trade, Jan. 11). In a related development, the President’s Export Council may
discuss the RRM proposal
at its March 12 meeting, according to a tentative agenda published in the Fede
ral Register on Feb. 25.
1 月には複数の消息筋が，USTR はこのRRM 提案に対して好意的な態度を示していると
述べ
ていた。関連する展開として，大統領輸出評議会は2 月25 日連邦政府官報で示した暫
定的議
題によれば，3 月12 日会議でRMR 提案を議論するかも知れない。
（以下，タバコ規制関連は省略））
On tobacco, USTR last May released a summary of a draft proposal that would ex
pressly allow
governments to put in place certain tobacco control measures, but has delayed
formally tabling it at each
subsequent round, citing the need for further consultations with stakeholders
and Congress.
Asked about the draft proposal, the USTR spokeswoman said “no tobacco-related
language will be
tabled at this round.” One industry source this week said USTR is likely hold
ing off because in part
because it has too many other important issues to raise at the round.
In a Feb. 1 letter, 31 U.S. agriculture and food groups urged President Obama
not to move forward with
the tobacco proposal, which they referred to as a safe harbor for tobacco regu
lations that would be
included in the TPP general exceptions chapter. They argued that USTR’s draft
language would not
require a regulation to be “necessary” to achieve a legitimate health policy
objective in order to be
shielded from litigation by the safe harbor.
This could clear the way for other U.S. trading partners to insist on their ow
n safe harbors for
regulations purportedly put in place for health reasons that could potentially
hamper U.S. agricultural
exports, the letter argued. It cited a European Union ban on the import of mea
t treated with growth
hormones and EU measures on genetically modified organisms, both of which were
found to violate
WTO rules.
On market access, USTR had indicated after the Auckland TPP round in December
that participating
countries were aiming to submit new offers on goods and services prior to the
Singapore round. The
USTR spokeswoman said market access groups “have engaged intersessionally bet
ween Auckland and
Singapore with the plan to exchange information formally in Singapore,” altho
ugh she did not elaborate.
市場アクセスについては，USTR は第15 回オークランド交渉（12 月）の後に，交渉参
加国は
シンガポール交渉以前に物品とサービスの市場アクセスについての新たなオファーを提
出する
ことを目標にしていると述べていた。USTR 広報官は市場アクセス交渉グループは「オ
ークラ
ンド交渉とシンガポール交渉の間に，シンガポール交渉で公式に情報交換できるように
集中的
に取り組んできた」と述べた。」
USTR is negotiating bilaterally on goods with Vietnam, New Zealand, Malaysia a
nd Brunei, and has
also indicated it wants to do so with Canada, which joined the talks in Octobe
r. It is negotiating on a
plurilateral basis with all TPP countries on services and government procureme
nt.
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USTR は，ベトナム，ニュージーランド，マレーシア，ブルネイと物品市場アクセスに
ついて
二国間交渉をしており，カナダとも行ないたいと述べた。サービス貿易と政府調達につ
いては，
全交渉国との多国間ベースで交渉している。
USTR officials have privately expressed frustration with services offers thus
far, saying most TPP
partners are largely offering up the same concessions they have already made u
nder the WTO, one
informed source said in January. The U.S. has been working with Vietnam to hel
p it structure its
services offer using the negative list approach being applied in TPP, which Vi
etnam has never before
done in a trade agreement.
ある情報筋によれば，USTR 交渉官達は，ほんどの交渉国がサービス貿易についてWTO
で既
になされているのと同じ譲許しかオファーしていないので，欲求不満を表明していたと
いう。
アメリカはベトナムに対して，同国がこれまでの貿易協定で一度もしたことがないネガ
ティブ
リスト方式でアプローチするように働きかけてきている。
On rules of origin for textiles and apparel, USTR is aiming to present TPP par
tners in Singapore with
some initial proposals for items that would be included on two short-supply li
sts it has floated as a way
to provide flexibility from the strict yarn-forward rule it wants to include i
n the agreement.
繊維製品の原産地規則について，USTR はシンガポール交渉でアメリカがTPP 協定に入
れよう
としている厳格なヤーンフォワード規則（製品の原糸や織布も域内産でなければならな
い）に
柔軟性をもたせる方途として，２つの（※「恒常的」と「一時的」）「ショートサプラ
イリス
ト」（※域内で生産困難な特定の原糸や織布を使用した製品についてヤーンフォワード
の例外
扱いとする）に含まれることになる要素について，初歩的な提案をする狙いを持ってい
る。
One agriculture source said it will be critical to gauge Vietnam’s reaction to
these short-supply proposals
at the Singapore round, as the issue of whether Vietnam views this approach as
providing meaningful
access for its apparel exports to the U.S. would determine whether it is willi
ng to give ground on any of
the U.S. offensive interests, including greater market access for U.S. exports
, and rules on labor rights,
environment protections and state-owned enterprises.
ある農業筋が言うには，このショートサプライ提案にベトナムがどう反応するかを評価
するの
は非常に重大である，というのはベトナムがこのアプローチを自国の繊維製品の対米輸
出にと
って意味あるアクセスを与えるものだと見なすかどうかが，アメリカからの対ベトナム
輸出へ
のより大きな市場アクセス，労働権利，環境保護，および国有企業規律を含むアメリカ
側の攻
撃的な利害のいずれかに譲歩をする意志を持つかどうかを決めることになるだろうから
だ。
In the area of intellectual property (IP) rights, the spokeswoman did not resp
ond directly when asked
about industry expectations that the U.S. would float new ideas related to its
controversial proposal on
access to medicines at the Singapore round.
知的財産権分野では，アメリカが論争の的になっている医薬品アクセス提案に関してシ
ンガポ
ール交渉で新たな提案をするのではという関連業界の期待についての質問に対して，US
TR 広
報官は回答しなかった。
Last month, industry sources expected USTR to “verbalize” new ideas related to
its proposal at the
Singapore round in the hope that this could then pave the way for tabling new
legal text at the
subsequent TPP round in May in Peru (Inside U.S. Trade, Feb. 22). USTR’s initi
al proposal in this area
met with opposition from TPP partners; as a result, USTR commenced an internal
review of the proposal
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that is still ongoing.
先月，業界筋はUSTR がシンがオール交渉で同提案に関する新たな考え方を表明し，5
月の第17
回ペルー交渉で新たな条文提案をすることに道を開くことを期待していた。USTR の当
初（現
行）提案は他の交渉国から反対され，その結果USTR は内部で検討を開始したが，それ
はなお
続いているということだ。
“We continue to reflect on the feedback received following our initial discus
sion of our pharmaceutical
proposal,” the USTR spokeswoman said. “We expect continued dialogue with our
trading partners on
these important issues.” Other IPR issues that negotiators may address in Sin
gapore are enforcement,
copyrights and geographical indications, sources speculated.
In general, the goal of the Singapore round is to make continued progress on a
ll negotiating areas to
enable the conclusion of a deal in 2013, according to the USTR spokeswoman. Sh
e said negotiators plan
to discuss the spectrum of TPP issues at the Singapore round.
全般的に言って，シンガポール交渉の目標は全交渉分野において2013 年中の結論を可
能にす
るための前進を続けるということであると，USTR 交渉官は述べた。
In a Feb. 27 press release, Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry said over
600 negotiators from the
11 TPP countries will attend the March 4-13 round. In addition, roughly 300 st
akeholders from the
private sector, civil society and academia have registered to attend the March
6 stakeholder forum.
Stakeholders will also be able to “participate in the various seminars and pa
nel discussion sessions
throughout the round,” the ministry said, without elaborating.