ITA encourages proper safety training and policies.

The Industrial Truck Association (ITA) is gearing up for its National Forklift Safety Day on 10 June at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill hotel.

Speakers include ITA president Brian Feehan; ITA board chair Brian Butler; Doug Kalinowski, from the US Occupational Safety & Health Administration's directorate of cooperative and state programs; and a foreign trade expert from the US Senate or the US House of Representatives.

Butler, president and chief executive officer of Linde Material Handling North America Corp, in Summerville, South Carolina, says: "While ITA members are in Washington for National Forklift Safety Day, we also plan to meet some members of Congress and their staffs to ensure our position on free and fair trade issues is clearly stated and express our support for several trade policy initiatives."

The issues involve the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA).

"All these initiatives, if achieved, would be beneficial to our industry," Butler says. "The issue of fair/free trade remains an opportunity for the industry. Our efforts to eliminate tariffs and work towards creating a more level playing field remain a priority for ITA. Reducing and/or eliminating tariffs are not short-term efforts; however, if successful, they could yield significant results for the industry."

The second round of TTIP negotiations was on 11-15 November in Brussels, Belgium, the third on 16-20 December in Washington, and the latest on 11-14 March in Brussels.

In Brussels, ITA worked with the Federation of European Manufacturers' materials handling product group (FEMIT) and the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) to have industry representation for a stakeholder briefing organised by the governments.


For the Washington round, ITA representatives attended stakeholder briefings the governments conducted and communicated with FEMIT/VDMA on the latest developments. Negotiations focused on services, market access/competition, technical barriers to trade, labour and environment, intellectual property rights, agriculture and regulatory harmonisation.

The March discussions in Brussels focused on investor-state dispute settlements. "There are expected to be at least four more negotiating rounds along with multiple sector meetings," Butler says. The next TTIP round will be in Washington on 19-23 May.

"The US and the [European Union] have stated they would like to complete this trade deal by the end of 2014," he says. "However, it is expected negotiations will continue into 2015."

The US is currently negotiating with 11 countries on TPP: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. In 2009, President Obama announced the US's intention to participate in the trans-Pacific negotiations.

While a TPP conclusion was expected in 2013, discussions continue after 19 rounds of negotiations. "Several obstacles remain facing TPP negotiations, including currency manipulation, intellectual property, agricultural tariffs and state-owned enterprises," Butler says.

Legislation for TPA, also known as fast track authority, was introduced in Congress on 9 January. TPA enables a US president to negotiate agreements subject to a vote by Congress. Congress passed TPA legislation in 2002, but that law expired in 2007.

While the current TPA proposal limits amendments members of Congress can offer, it requires the executive branch to seek input from Congress before, during and after negotiations. It also allows Congress to specify negotiating objectives the executive branch must pursue.

"Without this TPA legislation, approval of any final negotiated trade deal would be subject to members of Congress modifying any deal," Butler says. "This potential concerns negotiating countries that any deal put forward would be subject to modification."

Washington-based ITA has 21 forklift manufacturing members and 40 suppliers of component parts and accessories conducting business in the US, Canada and Mexico. ITA maintains an influential voice in international standards development for the industry, advances engineering and safety practices, disseminates statistical marketplace information and holds industry forums.