U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators brokered a range of compromises on market access restrictions and intellectual property protections during the Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade, said Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman in a Dec. 18 press briefing. Both sides wrapped up three days of consultations in Chicago on Dec. 18. Changes to the Chinese geographical indications regime will open the door for U.S. cheese shipments, such as feta and parmesan, said Froman in remarks. The deals struck at JCCT will also pave the way for more U.S. biotechnology corn and soybean sales, and a pledged crackdown on unregulated and illegal fishing will safeguard lawful producers in the U.S., said Froman. He and Pritzker touted progress on slashing red tape for U.S. pharmaceutical and medical device exports (here).

A U.S.-China Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) will limit the Chinese government from discriminating against U.S. companies in some of the 100 industry sectors China currently shields from fair foreign investment access, said Erin Ennis, vice president of the U.S.-China Business Council in a an op-ed for Barron’s (here). Those sectors cross the industry spectrum, from manufacturing to agriculture. BITs "curb governments’ ability to require American companies to meet burdensome conditions to operate in their markets,” said Ennis. The deal will not cover Chinese subsidy or procurement policies, said Ennis. U.S. and Chinese trade officials continue to negotiate the pact, and President Barack Obama, alongside Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, pledged in November to unveil a list of sectors covered by the treaty in early 2015 (see 1411120008). The two sides are currently meeting in Chicago for the Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade, but those talks don’t cover the BIT.

The Energy Department is adopting tougher energy efficiency standards for commercial clothes washers (here). The new standards apply to any commercial clothes washers manufactured or imported on or after Jan. 1, 2018.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is listing five species of sawfish as endangered, in a final rule that takes effect Jan. 12. The listing places new import and export restrictions on narrow sawfish (Anoxypristis cuspidata), dwarf sawfish (Pristis clavata), largetooth sawfish (collectively Pristis pristis; formerly Pristis pristis, Pristis microdon, and Pristis perotteti), green sawfish (Pristis zijsron), and the non-U.S. DPS of smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata).

The Fish and Wildlife Service issued a final rule Dec. 12 listing the Rufa Red Knot as threatened (here). Effective Jan. 12, the agency will place new restrictions on the import and export of the shorebird, which is native to the Americas. The final rule also creates restrictions on the importation of the Asian Horseshoe Crab.

The Obama administration is mulling over economic, and potentially militaristic, measures against Russia over that country’s recent violations of arms control treaties, two top Obama administration officials said in testimony for a House hearing on Dec. 10. The U.S. continues to accuse Russia of breaking the rules in the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty by testing a particular ground-launched cruise missile, but Russia refuses to acknowledge the violation, said Rose Gottemoeller, undersecretary of arms control and international security at the State Department, and Brian McKeon, principal deputy undersecretary for policy at the Defense Department.

The Obama administration should ensure duties on all tariff lines are reduced in a Trans-Pacific Partnership, said three prominent dairy producers in a Dec. 4 letter to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, while stopping short of calling for comprehensive elimination (here). The administration and a wide range of industry representatives have called for complete tariff elimination in the pact, but as the talks continue to move forward without any critical breakthrough, some analysts have said partial tariff elimination still can benefit the U.S. (see 14060404).

The Energy Department adopted new energy efficiency test procedures for commercial clothes washers, in a Dec. 3 final rule (here). The agency earlier this year proposed the changes (see 14021023) to clarify compliance dates for commercial washers and adopt a new testing procedure. Compliance with the new standards is required by March 7, 2015.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission will accept oral comments on its proposal for a new mandatory safety standard for recreational off-highway vehicles, the agency said in a notice (here). The oral comments will be included during a meeting at 10 a.m. on Jan. 7, it said. Requests to make oral presentations must be sent to the CPSC by Dec. 30, it said.

The Labor Department updated its list of goods it believes to have been produced by child labor or forced labor to add two new goods (alcoholic beverages and meat), and one new country (Yemen), the agency said in a notice (here). The full report, including the updated list and a discussion of the list’s context, scope, methodology, and limitations, as well as frequently asked questions and a bibliography of sources, is available on the DOL website (here).