The U.S. has lifted its 50-year arms embargo against Vietnam, as Washington continues efforts to normalize relations with the country, President Barack Obama said during a press conference with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang (here). Launching a three-day trip to the Southeast Asian country, Obama and his Vietnamese counterpart also highlighted their commitment to quickly and fully implementing the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

President Barack Obama on May 20 signed HR-4923, the American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act, into law, which places initial vetting jurisdiction for miscellaneous tariff bills (MTB) with the International Trade Commission (see 1604130047), the White House said (here). The Senate passed the bill on May 10 under expedited procedures, after the House approved it by a landslide on April 27. The Society of the Plastics Industry trade association on May 20 applauded the signing, saying in a statement (here) that since the expiration of the last MTB on Dec. 31, 2012, U.S. companies have faced a $748 million tariff hike on manufacturing in the U.S., and a $1.9 billion loss to the U.S. economy. “This law is a victory for American manufacturers, consumers and workers," House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, said in a statement. "When the new process is in place soon, it will be easier for our companies to compete in the global market and create new jobs at home."

President Barack Obama on May 11 signed into law S. 1890, the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016, the White House said (here). The legislation creates a private civil cause of action for misappropriation of trade secrets related to products or services in foreign or interstate commerce (see 1605020012). “Unfortunately, all too often, some of our competitors, instead of competing with us fairly, are trying to steal these trade secrets from American companies,” Obama said in remarks delivered in the Oval Office (here). “And that means a loss of American jobs, a loss of American markets, a loss of American leadership. What…members of Congress have done is to, on a bipartisan basis, pass a strong enforcement bill that allows us not only to go after folks who are stealing trade secrets through criminal actions, but also through civil actions, and hurt them where it counts: In their pocketbook.”

President Barack Obama on May 9 signed the "Protect and Preserve International Cultural Property Act," which establishes an interagency coordinating committee to prevent illegal looting and trafficking of cultural property and aims to facilitate the lawful trade of such goods, among other things. The House of Representatives on April 26 passed the conference version of the bill and sent it to Obama's desk (see 1605090026). Under the new law (here), the White House now has 90 days to restrict imports of any “archaeological or ethnological” materials from Syria.

President Barack Obama will meet with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto in Ottawa, Ontario, on June 29, for the North American Leaders’ Summit to discuss a “more integrated” continent to advance its prosperity, and to work to strengthen bilateral and trilateral ties between the three countries, the White House said (here).

President Barack Obama defended his support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership in a Washington Post op-ed on May 2, saying the U.S. must “pursue every avenue of economic growth” to keep increasing job opportunities and maintain its global competitiveness (here). “Simply put, once the TPP is in place, American businesses will export more of what they make,” he wrote. “And that means supporting more higher-paying jobs.” The deal will strengthen the U.S. economy, ensure the U.S. has a place in the Asia-Pacific’s ongoing economic integration, and will distinguish U.S. as a rule-setter of trade, Obama wrote. “I understand the skepticism people have about trade agreements, particularly in communities where the effects of automation and globalization have hit workers and families the hardest,” he said. “But building walls to isolate ourselves from the global economy would only isolate us from the incredible opportunities it provides. Instead, America should write the rules. America should call the shots. Other countries should play by the rules that America and our partners set, and not the other way around.”

The Obama Administration continues to talk with both Democratic and Republican lawmakers about the most effective way to move Trans-Pacific Partnership-implementing legislation forward in Congress, but renegotiation of the agreement itself is off the table, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said during an April 25 press conference at the Hannover Messe trade fair in Hannover, Germany (here). “[W]e’ve spent years trying to get 12 different countries with a wide variety of economic interests around the table to find common ground on these issues, and we've succeeded in doing that,” he said. Earnest added that the White House plans to consult with Congressional GOP leadership about how to garner enough votes to implement the deal. “We certainly are also engaged on the substance,” Earnest said. “It's not just about the process, but also on the substance. And there are a number of members of Congress who have demonstrated an interest in particular areas of the agreement.”

Differences between the U.S. and EU are narrowing in Transatlantic and Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations, President Barack Obama said on April 24 during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Hannover Messe trade show, in Hannover, Germany (here). Defending trade deals’ dispute settlement mechanisms, Obama rejected the notion that the agreements give corporations unfair opportunities to sue countries to prevent enforcement of health and environmental laws and financial regulations. “None of these things have happened with the many trade agreements that currently exist, and that Germany and the United States and the EU and others are already party to,” Obama said. “So I think it’ important for us to look at the facts and not a bunch of hypothetical pronouncements.” U.S. and EU negotiators are meeting in New York this week for the 13th round of TTIP talks.

There may be a need for more competition within the supply chain in order to address "market structure changes," said the White House in a brief about the benefits of competition released on April 15 (here). The transportation and warehousing industry was among a list of highly concentrated industries, with an 11.4% increase in revenue earned by the 50 largest firms over the period 1997-2012. "A natural question is whether increased concentration in one area of the supply chain leads to increased concentration in other parts of the supply chain," said the Council of Economic Advisors, which produced the brief. "One might imagine that consolidation could improve a firm’s bargaining position with upstream suppliers and downstream customers. More generally, economists are beginning to model and better understand empirically how consolidation in one part of the supply chain affects market outcomes and consumer welfare in other parts of the supply chain." Research on this "will continue to be of use to antitrust authorities and regulators, ultimately helping to benefit consumers," it said.

Negotiation of another U.S.-Canada softwood trade agreement, dual government restrictions on timber supply, and creation of a joint governmental commission are all feasible paths forward out of the U.S.-Canada lumber dispute, trade experts and former officials from both countries’ governments said during a panel discussion on March 29. The 2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement between the two nations—the fifth iteration of such a deal—expired on Oct. 12 (see 1510070032). The White House on March 10 announced that President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tasked the countries’ trade ministers with exploring “all options” for concluding another softwood agreement, and with reporting back to the heads of state within 100 days on their findings.