President Barack Obama will reject any appropriations legislation that prevents implementation of his recent executive order on deportation limitations, said White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest on Dec. 1, while insisting Obama prefers a complete omnibus funding package. The stopgap appropriations measure passed in September runs its course on Dec. 11, so Congress has a maximum of eight legislative days, including Dec. 1, to pass another funding bill. Some Republican lawmakers have floated the idea of passing an appropriations bill for fiscal year 2015 that puts Department of Homeland Security funding on a different, short-term timeframe. A complete omnibus bill would help to “eliminate any uncertainty,” said Earnest. DHS administers deportations of immigrants, and funding withdrawal for the agency may impact implementation of Obama’s executive order. Congress provides the CBP funding through DHS appropriations.

President Barack Obama signed into law the Government Reports Elimination Act of 2014, the White House said Nov. 26 (here). The law (here) eliminates several previously required government reports, some of which involve trade. For example, the law does away with CBP reporting requirements related to illegal imports of products made with dog or cat fur, the biennial Port of Entry Infrastructure Assessment Study and fees for customs services, according to a summary (here).

President Barack Obama signed into law a bill that lets device manufacturers include a required Federal Communications Commission label digitally rather than on the physical device, the White House said Nov. 26 (here). The House passed a Senate version of the bill (here) earlier this month (see 1411140039). According to the bill, U.S. manufacturers and consumers of FCC licensed devices "would prefer to have the option to provide or receive important Commission labeling information digitally on the screen of the device and such an option "would give flexibility to manufacturers in meeting labeling requirements." Within nine months, the FCC is required to "promulgate regulations or take other appropriate action, as necessary, to allow manufacturers of radiofrequency devices with display the option to use electronic labeling for the equipment" in place of affixing physical labels to the equipment.

After seven months of unsuccessful labor negotiations at the West Coast ports, federal mediation "is now the only way to avoid work stoppage," said the Airforwarders Association in a letter to President Barack Obama (here). "Recently we have become aware of shippers who have diverted their cargo to non-U.S. ports in an effort to avoid the possible port labor disruption," the letter said. "Such diversions deprive Americans of needed jobs while handing such work to foreign competitors." The slowed cargo handling at the ports has also resulted in substantial costs, the AfA said. Recently, industry groups, including the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America, also asked for federal mediation (see 1411070010).

The U.S., Japan and Australia vowed to work together on Nov. 16 to tackle a range of global security concerns, as well as maritime disputes, but the joint statement made only a passing mention of boosting “free trade and investment” in the region (here). The three countries are critical economies in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and the U.S.-Japanese disagreement over agricultural market access in the pact shows no signs of immediate resolution. Obama met with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Brisbane. The U.S. and World Trade Organization partners over recent days laid the groundwork for wrapping up WTO agreements on information technology and trade facilitation, but TPP leaders only vaguely committed to continuing talks after a summit in Beijing (here). Obama said TPP negotiators "continue to make progress" in a Nov. 16 press conference in Brisbane. The president arrived home in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 17 after a week-long diplomatic tour through the Asia-Pacific.

President Barack Obama extended for one year the national emergency that has provided the foundation for sanctions against Iran for decades (here). Executive Order 12170, declared by former President Jimmy Carter in 1979, identified Iran as a security threat to the U.S.

The U.S. and Myanmar struck a deal on Nov. 14 to boost labor rights protections in the Southeast Asian country, the White House and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced. The U.S. will join Japan, Denmark and the International Labor Organization in helping improve Myanmar’s labor regime through a multi-year legislative reform process and capacity building efforts, the Obama administration said. “The labor reform plan developed under this Initiative is intended to serve as a blueprint to prioritize legal changes, coordinate donor assistance, and strengthen government capacity to implement those reforms in close cooperation with civil society representatives,” said the White House in a statement (here). President Barack Obama is currently in Myanmar for talks with regional leaders, and he is set to arrive in Australia for the G20 meeting on Nov. 15. The labor reform plan will be formally drafted in early 2015, said USTR (here).

President Barack Obama and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping pledged to speed up progress on Bilateral Investment Treaty talks during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in Beijing, saying both sides expect to exchange proposals in early 2015 on a list of sectors that won’t be liberalized in the treaty. U.S. trade officials and business leaders are battling to ensure the list of Chinese sectors exempt from the treaty is as limited as possible, thereby allowing U.S. companies more access to the Chinese market (see 1410160012).

President Barack Obama pledged on Nov. 5 to work with Republicans to boost exports and liberalize Asian markets during the final two years of his tenure as president, in a clear hint at efforts to close the Trans-Pacific Partnership (here). Republicans steamrolled the Democratic field the day before, registering significant gains in both the House and Senate. Obama said he would be focusing on those objectives during the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Partnership meetings, although a senior U.S. trade official on Nov. 5 dismissed the prospect of closing a TPP deal in Beijing, the site of the APEC summit.

President Barack Obama recently extended the national emergency that facilitates sanctions against Sudan (here). Executive Order 13067, issued in 1997 by then President Bill Clinton, authorizes the Treasury Department to block property of those tied to the conflict in Sudan. The national emergency complies with the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Congress also expanded the reach of the sanctions against Sudan with the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act of 2006. The country continues to pose a national security and foreign policy threat to the U.S., said Obama on Oct. 24. Obama extended the national emergency for one year.