ADVICE ON HOLD

Abstract

FOR NEARLY THREE DECADES, REPresentatives from various industrial sectors—including chemical manufacturing—have provided advice to U.S. trade negotiators. But despite regular meetings in the past, an advisory committee of chemical and pharmaceutical company representatives has not met in nearly a year. The situation is critical, says a committee member who has served as the panel's chairman. Chemicals constitute the biggest single export product of the U.S. Plus, chemical and pharmaceutical firms want to provide advice to and get information from U.S. trade officials who are negotiating with other countries on short-term goals set last year by the World Trade Organization, such as the global effort to lower import tariffs. But they're not getting the chance because the committee is not gathering. Meetings of the Industry Sector Advisory Committee on Chemicals & Allied Products, known as ISAC-3, are run by the Commerce Department's International Trade Administration. A department spokeswoman tells C&EN the...