The Chinese government should press ahead with pledged intellectual property and trade secret reforms, said Vice President Joe Biden on Dec. 5, speaking at an American Chamber of Commerce in Beijing and U.S.-China Business Council event. “The more China delivers on its proposed reforms the strong[er] our bilateral trade and investment relationship will be,” said Biden (here). “We have an opportunity to improve intellectual property protection, resolve outstanding trade disputes that are holding us back. We have an opportunity to significantly expand our cooperation on energy and climate change.”

The House Judiciary Committee reported on Dec. 2 the Innovation Act, a patent reform bill, and referred the amended legislation to the Union Calendar. Congressman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., introduced the legislation, HR-3309 (here) Oct. 23 (see 13110121). The legislation received bipartisan support on the Judiciary Committee, garnering 33 votes in favor to five opposing votes. The Obama Administration in a Dec. 3 press release commended the bill’s aim to increase transparency in patent infringement cases and limit legal fees.

Vice President Joe Biden departed for a six-day tour of the Asia-Pacific region on Dec. 1 that includes a Dec. 3 summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, where the two leaders are expected to discuss Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, the White House said. Biden is also scheduled to meet with South Korean President Park Geun-Hye on Dec. 6. South Korea formally expressed Nov. 29 its intent to join TPP negotiations (see 13112927). The U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman traveled to Vietnam Dec. 1 and Malaysia Dec. 2 for Trans-Pacific Partnership meetings, said the office of the USTR (see 13112721).

President Barack Obama on Nov. 21 announced his intention to nominate John Roth as Inspector General at the Department of Homeland Security, the White House said. Roth has been director of the office of criminal investigations at the Food and Drug Administration since 2012. Roth would fill the position most recently held by Richard Skinner, who resigned in 2011.

The U.S. must increase the dredging capability of East Coast ports, creating depths of at least 50 feet, in order to maximize the shipping capacity of vessels that will fit in an expanded Panama Canal, said Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli in remarks to reporters, according to a White House release. The remarks came as Vice President Joe Biden, along with an entourage of U.S. political figures, convened with Martinelli in Panama City on Nov. 19.

The Obama Administration investment in the Port of New Orleans has helped increase exports by 140 percent since 2009, making it one of the fastest growing U.S. regions for exports, said a Nov. 8 White House fact sheet released in preparation for President Obama’s visit to the port. The upgraded port facilities enabled 62 million tons of goods, such as corn, wheat and coal, to pass through the Port of New Orleans in 2012, said the fact sheet. Despite that progress, there remains much work to be done, it said. The U.S. currently spends 50 percent fewer federal funds on infrastructure improvement than in 1960, the fact sheet said. The current infrastructure expenditure is roughly 2 percent of Gross Domestic Product, it said. Obama has proposed $50 billion in immediate infrastructure investment, said the fact sheet, to expand on other infrastructure improvement efforts.

President Barack Obama on Nov. 7 announced his intent to nominate Stefan Selig, for Commerce Department under secretary for international trade. Selig currently serves as executive vice chairman of global corporate and investment banking at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, a position held since 2009. Email ITTNews@warren-news.com for a copy of the White House release.

President Barack Obama announced on Nov. 6 his intent to nominate Joseph Mohorovic as the administration’s Commissioner for the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the office of the presidency said in a release. Since 2007, Mohorovic has served as Senior Vice President of Strategic Management of Intertek’s North America Consumer Goods division. From 2002 to 2006, he worked for the CPSC, initially as a senior policy advisor to the chairman, and later as chief of staff and director in the Office of International Programs and Intergovernmental Affairs.

U.S. and Pakistani senior trade officials will develop a joint action plan to expand bilateral trade and investment flows over the coming years, President Barack Obama and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif pledged in a joint Oct. 23 statement after a meeting at the White House. The two sides should also conduct the 3rd U.S.-Pakistan Economic Opportunities conference soon, said the heads of state. “The President gave the assurance that the United States would strongly support efforts to enlarge and strengthen Pakistan’s economy, particularly in the energy sector,” said the statement (here). Both officials also urged a successful December World Trade Organization ministerial conference in Bali (see 13100908). U.S.-Pakistan bilateral trade was valued at more than $5 billion in 2012, said a White House fact sheet (here), adding that the U.S. is Pakistan’s largest export market. U.S. Trade Representative pushed closer ties with Pakistan at an Oct. 21 meeting with Sharif (see 13102117).

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment (TTIP) is a U.S.-Romanian, bilateral priority, Vice President Joe Biden and Prime Minister of Romania, Victor Ponta, said on Oct. 22 in Washington, D.C., according to a White House statement. The two leaders agreed TTIP “has the potential to generate significant increases in the already substantial number of jobs supported by U.S.-EU trade and investment,” the White House statement read. The Obama Administration canceled the second round of TTIP talks, previously slated to take place in Brussels from Oct. 7-11, due to the now-resolved government shutdown (see 13100418).