President Barack Obama reiterated his commitment to close Trans-Pacific Partnership talks on a Sept. 16 call with newly-minted Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turbull, the White House said. Members of the Australian Liberal Party elected parliamentarian Turnbull on Sept. 14 to take over as the Australian prime minister, in a move that puts Tony Abbott, a staunch TPP proponent, out of office. The election could pave the way for a sweeping cabinet reshuffle, said Australian media (here). Trade Minister Andrew Robb has been a central figure in the drive to close TPP negotiations (see 1503180062). Turnbull recently touted the merits of free trade agreements and called for China's inclusion in TPP (here).

The White House directed the Treasury Department on Sept. 11 to extend the Cuban Assets Control Regulations for another year (here). Those regulations (here), which fall within the controls outlined in the Trading with the Enemy Act, cover nearly all dealings with Cuba. The Obama administration has taken a number of steps to normalize ties with the country over the past several months, but administration officials emphasize the vast majority of bilateral trade is still prohibited (see 1509100020). The authority to administer sanctions on Cuba expired on Sept. 14, the White House said.

The White House is asking for industry comments to help craft the next iteration of its Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement (here). The plan, which is administered by the Office of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, aims to put in place the mechanisms to combat fraudulent goods and other intellectual property infringement, while also assisting other countries in cracking down on illegal operations, the White House said in a Sept. 1 Federal Register notice. Through the plan, the U.S. aims to prioritize U.S. resources for "countries where programs can be carried out most effectively with the greatest impact on reducing the number of infringing products imported into the United States, while also protecting the intellectual property rights of U.S. rights holders and the interests of U.S. persons otherwise harmed by infringements in other countries," said the notice. Following two previous three-year versions, this plan will last from 2016-19. The notice requests “input and recommendations” on the broad effort to crack down on IP infringement, including through legislation, presidential action and regulatory changes, “as well as ideas for improving any of the existing voluntary private-sector initiatives and for establishing new voluntary private-sector initiatives.”

The U.S. and Japan are committed to concluding Trans-Pacific Partnership talks "as soon as possible," the White House said in a statement following an Aug. 25 call between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Obama and Abe covered a wide range of bilateral issues, the statement said. The top Japanese TPP negotiator recently criticized U.S. efforts to close the pact after the Maui ministerial in late July (see 1508120021).

Foreign export credit agencies, such as those in China, the UK and Canada, are ramping up activities after the U.S. Congress allowed the Export-Import Bank to expire in late June, said John Murphy, senior vice president for international policy at the Chamber of Commerce, in an Aug. 24 blog (here). “We live in a world where official export credit agencies are major players in international commerce,” he said. “And that isn't changing: Governments are doubling down on their ECAs.” The White House also urged action on Ex-Im. Congress needs to “take the long-overdue step of reauthorizing the Ex-Im Bank…in a timely fashion,” said White House spokesman Josh Earnest on Aug. 24. U.S. business associations, the White House and many Capitol Hill lawmakes have railed against the lapse in Ex-Im authorization (see 1507280017). Lawmakers return to Washington the second week of September.

The Chinese government has “increasingly pursued policies” to obstruct U.S. industry access to the Chinese information and communications technology (ICT) sector over the past nine months, said 19 of the highest profile U.S. business and trade groups in a recent letter to President Barack Obama (here). Those groups, which include the Consumer Electronics Association, the Semiconductor Industry Association and others, urged Obama to pressure Chinese President Xi Jinping to ease those barriers during a bilateral September summit in Washington. Chinese national security policy, as well as other motivations, have led to “a new program to acquire or indigenize U.S. semiconductor technology,” “new restrictions on cross-border data flows” and several other restrictive measures, said the Aug. 11 letter. “The United States and China should reaffirm their commitment to open markets, particularly in the ICT sector, recognizing the significant benefits that both countries enjoy from integration into global ICT industry value chains,” the groups said, while calling for other ways to strengthen cooperation among the two countries. The letter said China adopted the restrictive measures since Jinping's last visit to Washington in November 2014.

President Barack Obama signed into law on July 31 the three-month stopgap measure for the Department of Transportation’s surface infrastructure funding. The legislation, HR-3236 (here), extends funding through Oct. 29 and transfers $8.1 billion from the Treasury General Fund to the Highway Trust Fund. Obama praised congressional passage of the stopgap before signing the bill, but urged lawmakers to rally behind a long-term solution to highway funding. “We operate as if we’re hand-to-mouth three months at a time, which freezes a lot of construction, which makes people uncertain, which leads to businesses not being willing to hire because they don’t have any long-term certainty,” said Obama (here). “It’s a bad way for the U.S. government to do business.”

President Barack Obama voiced continued support for the recently extended African Growth and Opportunity Act (see 1506290045) during an event on July 22. "Now that it’s been renewed, AGOA will be central to our efforts to boost the trade and investment that supports hundreds of thousands of jobs both in Africa and the United States, creating opportunities for all of us," Obama said (here). The U.S. will sponsor the next U.S.-Africa Business Forum in 2016 in an effort to collaborate with Africa to promote "growth and opportunity" in the country, Obama said.

President Barack Obama issued an executive order in recent days to formally delegate authorities in the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015, known commonly as Trade Promotion Authority, to different departments in the administration (here). Obama signed TPA into law on June 29 after months of intense negotiations and wrangling on Capitol Hill (see 1506290045). The executive action gives authority to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to conduct environmental reviews and the Department of Labor to conduct employment and labor rights reviews, among other delegations.

The U.S. will allow the import of Iranian carpets and foodstuffs, including caviar and pistachios, as implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action takes shape over the coming months, the document says, as released by The Washington Post (here). The U.S., Iran and other world powers reached an agreement to move forward with the deal, which is aimed at preventing an Iranian nuclear weapon in exchange for sanctions relief, on July 14 after three intense weeks of negotiations in Vienna (see 1507140020). All sides will adopt the deal 90 days or sooner following endorsement from the U.N. Security Council. At that point, the deal will take effect and sanctions relief will begin to unfold. Congress now has a 60-day window to approve, reject or choose to not act on the deal. President Barack Obama has threatened a veto on any rejection.