Jacob Kopnick

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) customs and trade facilitation chapter would ensure U.S. agricultural goods, including perishables, enter Asian-Pacific markets more efficiently and faster, said acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Wendy Cutler at a May U.S. Chamber of Commerce event on agriculture trade policy. The chapter has not been made public to date. The intellectual property chapter also seeks to protect agricultural trademarks, while the chapter on sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures aims to guarantee transparency and accountability in SPS risk determinations, added Cutler.

The Obama administration remains committed to comprehensive elimination of tariffs on industrial and agricultural products in a final Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) pact, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Michael Froman told the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy in Berlin on May 5. But the Office of the USTR also continues to prioritize regulatory coherence in TTIP that will provide small and medium sized business on both sides of the Atlantic greater access to markets, said Froman.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has not yet broached the issue of currency manipulation in Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, USTR chief Michael Froman told the Senate Finance Committee in testimony on May 1. Froman also declined to commit to ensure currency rules are included in a final pact. Several Democratic lawmakers said there is poor likelihood TPP implementation legislation will pass Congress without currency provisions.

U.S. and Bangladeshi officials held an inaugural trade forum on April 28 in accordance with the bilateral Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement, said the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). The two sides vowed to work to improve labor conditions in Bangladesh in order to restore Generalized System of Preferences eligibility, said USTR. The U.S. aims to bolster its trade relationship with Bangladesh in the following areas, said USTR:

The fifth round of Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations will take place in Arlington, Va. from May 19-23, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said.

The World Trade Organization environmental goods agreement could be “critically important” for the growth of U.S. industry and the export of clean energy products, said Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz during an Export-Import Bank Annual Conference panel on April 25. The markets for environmentally friendly products are currently forming across the globe and will likely take multiple decades to emerge, said Moniz. The U.S. aims to formally begin negotiations by June on the agreement that could eliminate or reduce tariffs on a wide range of energy products (see 14041724).

The U.S. and Japan continue to battle over Japanese market access concessions in Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, following a meeting between U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Michael Froman and Japan’s Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy Akira Amari, said the Office of the USTR in an April 18 press release. The remaining gaps reflect “considerable differences,” said USTR. Despite publicly insisting on comprehensive tariff elimination, the U.S. is reportedly expected to permit Japan to keep tariffs on rice, wheat and likely sugar cane in the TPP (see 14041709).

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) outlined on April 4 the non-tariff barriers U.S. telecommunications service and equipment suppliers companies face when exporting goods and services. According to a release, USTR will target its efforts to address the following trade barriers:

U.S. and Taiwanese officials will continue to ramp up efforts to lift bilateral data localization requirements and revise multi-pack labeling requirements, said the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in a press release. The officials concluded on April 4 a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) Council meeting. The U.S. parties to the talks included State, Agriculture, Commerce, and Treasury Departments, as well as the Copyright Office and the Food and Drug Administration. The officials also pledged cooperation at multilateral forums, such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). “The two sides updated each other on regional and multilateral initiatives,” said the release. “They highlighted their close cooperation on various initiatives in APEC, their work towards the prompt conclusion of a balanced and commercially significant expansion of the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) at the WTO, achieving entry into force and full implementation of the WTO trade facilitation agreement, and efforts to advance the Trade in Services Agreement negotiations.”

The U.S. export of fresh potatoes to Mexico should resume by May, following a recent Mexican government decision to formally permit the trade, said Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho. A rule published in the Mexican government Diario Oficial on March 19 (here) enables U.S. potato exports to continue, in accordance with a U.S.-Mexican Market Access Agreement struck in 2003, said Simpson. The Mexican final rule runs “parallel” with a recent Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) rule to authorize U.S. import of Mexican potatoes, said potato industry advocates. The APHIS rule will take effect on April 25 (see 14032513).