The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has scheduled events only related to Trans-Pacific Partnership meetings in Hanoi, Vietnam and Sydney, Australia, the Office of the USTR said in a weekly schedule update on Oct. 17. USTR Froman will travel to Hanoi from Oct. 21-22 to meet with officials from TPP partner countries. Froman will then participate in the Sydney ministerial on Oct. 24. USTR officials are also meeting in the next few days in Canberra, Australia for other TPP talks.

U.S. Ambassador to the World Trade Organization Michael Punke backed up statements made by the head of the WTO on Oct. 16, saying there are no indications that those members that oppose implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement are willing to reverse course. Also at the Trade Negotiating Committee meeting, Director-General Roberto Azevêdo said the TFA collapse may lead to an existential crisis for the WTO (see 1410160024).

U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman on Oct. 14 hit back at accusations that the U.S. is attempting to weaken environmental and other protections in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, saying regulatory cooperation will be a boon to both regulators and consumers who would benefit from more efficient safety safeguards. U.S.-European harmonization could eliminate duplicative inspections and allow U.S. and European officials to dedicate their resources to inspect facilities of most pressing concern, he said, speaking in Rome. “Americans don’t want lower standards. Europeans don’t want lower standards. We won’t negotiate that kind of agreement,” said Froman. “Our legislatures wouldn’t approve such a thing. And the only reason we are negotiating this agreement is because we believe that, on balance, we share a similar commitment to strong levels of health, safety and environmental protection – even if our regulators get to the answer through somewhat different approaches.”

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will not reconsider its decision not to name India a Priority Foreign Country, the most severe classification of an intellectual property rights violator, as part of USTR’s Out-of-Cycle review on the country, the agency said on Oct. 14 (here). The pharmaceutical industry pushed USTR hard to slap that label on India in the agency’s Special 301 Watch List report in April. USTR asked the public for comments in recent days related to its review.

Parties to the revised World Trade Organization procurement agreement will formally admit the Netherlands with respect to Aruba on Oct. 31, following that territory’s submission of all necessary documents over recent months, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said (here). Aruba is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The WTO Agreement on Government Procurement entered into force on April 5 for the U.S., European Union, Canada, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Iceland, Israel, Liechtenstein, Norway and Singapore. Japan acceded to the pact in mid-April. Each country must wait 30 days after it adopts the revised agreement and notifies the WTO, before the revised agreement can enter into force. Negotiators finalized the terms of the agreement in 2012. The pact aims to ensure governments treat procurement competition with transparency and fairness.

U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman led a summit on Oct. 10, alongside other Obama administration officials and a number of international development representatives, to push for labor improvements in Myanmar’s industry, the Office of the USTR said in a statement (here). The summit builds off labor consultations launched in August, which leaders from both countries said they hoped would lead to a labor rights initiative by November (see 14082811). The two sides are pressing a long-term labor reform plan, as well as increased collaboration and communication between Myanmar and the global community.

U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman will meet with Mexican Secretary of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 13, the Office of the USTR said in its weekly schedule update (here). The agency did not specific the details of the summit. Froman will then from Oct. 14-15 travel to Rome, Italy to participate in a slate of diplomatic and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership events and negotiations. His agenda includes meetings with U.S. envoys, as well as a number of talks with European officials and civil society representatives.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is asking for comments to help compile its 2014 Out-of-Cycle Review of Indian intellectual property protections. USTR committed to the review in late April in its Special 301 Watch List report, but did not label India a Priority Foreign Country, the most severe classification of an intellectual property rights violator. The pharmaceutical industry pushed USTR to slap that label on India, but USTR officials said they were eyeing changes in the new Indian government. The country elected Narendra Modi prime minister in May. U.S. industry is cautiously hoping the Modi government will support the World Trade Organization facilitation agreement, as well as intellectual property reform in the country (see 14100624). The public must submit comments to USTR by Oct. 31, while foreign governments are allowed to comment until Nov. 7. USTR prefers comments are submitted through www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2014-0020. A U.S. intellectual property rights advocate pushed India to remove its compulsory license rules for pharmaceuticals during an Oct. 3 National Foreign Trade Council event.

U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman will meet with World Trade Organization Director-General Roberto Azevêdo on Oct. 10 in Washington, D.C., the Office of the USTR said. The U.S., WTO leadership and many WTO members are continuing to push for a compromise that will resolve the Trade Facilitation Agreement impasse. The same day Acting Deputy USTR Wendy Cutler will travel to Japan to meet with Japanese trade officials on Trans-Pacific Partnership market access and auto negotiations. USTR Chief Agricultural Negotiator Darci Vetter will later join Cutler. The U.S. and Japan have battled for the better part of 2014 over Japanese agricultural market access in TPP (see 14100601).

U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman will head to San Antonio, Texas on Oct. 6 to attend a trade event with Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, and another with Rep. Pete Gallego, D-Texas, the Office of the USTR said in its weekly schedule update. Froman will then on Oct. 7 meet with Chilean Director of General of International Economic Relations Andres Rebolledo in Washington, D.C. Chile is a negotiating partner in the Trans-Pacific Partnership. On Oct. 8, the USTR chief will sit down with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy and Department of Interior Secretary Sally Jewell to discuss environmental issues, and later in the day Froman will meet with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. Following that, Froman will hold talks with Bangladesh Ambassador to the United States Mohammad Ziauddin. Froman will meet with a number of high-ranking European officials on Oct. 10.