U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Michael Froman will join President Barack Obama’s tour through four Asian countries over the next week, said the Office of the USTR in its weekly schedule. The tour will include legs in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines, said the agency. Obama will depart the U.S. for Tokyo in the afternoon on April 22, the White House said in a press release. There the president will meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The U.S. and Japan continue to dispute auto provisions and agricultural market access in Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations (see 14042113). Acting Deputy USTR Wendy Cutler continued negotiations on those outstanding issues in Toyko on April 21 with her Japanese counterparts, said USTR. Froman will also hold a roundtable on April 23 with the American business community in Japan to discuss TPP and bilateral trade issues, said USTR.

The U.S. and Japan continue to battle over Japanese market access concessions in Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, following a meeting between U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Michael Froman and Japan’s Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy Akira Amari, said the Office of the USTR in an April 18 press release. The remaining gaps reflect “considerable differences,” said USTR. Despite publicly insisting on comprehensive tariff elimination, the U.S. is reportedly expected to permit Japan to keep tariffs on rice, wheat and likely sugar cane in the TPP (see 14041709).

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) recently launched two investigations into trade in environmental goods, it said on April 17. The U.S. aims to formally begin negotiations by June on an environmental goods tariffs agreement at the World Trade Organization (see 14032415). The first investigation will evaluate the economic impact of removing duties on environmental goods, said the release, while the second will focus on the details of specific environmental goods.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced that revisions to the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement entered into effect for Japan on April 16. The U.S., Canada, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Israel, Liechtenstein, Norway, the European Union, Iceland, and Singapore implemented the changes on April 6 (see 14040811). Each country is required to wait 30 days after it formally adopts the revised agreement and notifies the WTO, before the revised agreement can enter into force.

The Senate should reject the nomination of Robert Holleyman as deputy U.S. Trade Representative due to his private sector ties and track record on controversial legislation, the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen said in recent days. Public Citizen is asking for signatures to support rejection of the nomination. The petition will then be submitted to the Senate, according to Public Citizen. The advocacy group called Holleyman an “industry shill” for the Business Software Alliance, an organization he presided over for more than 20 years before stepping down in 2013. President Barack Obama sent the Holleyman nomination to the Senate in late February (see 14022811). Public Citizen said Holleyman championed the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act and PROTECT IP Act bills, pieces of legislation some critics say infringe on online liberties. Holleyman would attempt to impose provisions of those bills on foreign countries, said Public Citizen.

Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Wendy Cutler will meet with senior Japanese trade negotiators Hiroshi Oe and Takeo Mori from April 15-17 in Washington D.C. to discuss agriculture market access and auto market barriers in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, said the Office of the USTR in a weekly schedule release.

U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman praised the April 5 entry into effect of the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement. “The revised agreement provides U.S. firms with new and expanded opportunities to sell their goods and services to foreign governments, which unlocks opportunities for American workers and supports American jobs,” said Froman in the statement. “This is a plurilateral success story in the WTO, and we should continue to build on it by expanding participation of developed and developing economies.” The revised agreement entered into force for the U.S. and the following states: Canada, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Iceland, Israel, Liechtenstein, Norway, the European Union, and Singapore. Entry into force for Armenia, Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands with respect to Aruba, and Switzerland will take place 30 days after each country formally adopts the agreement and notifies the WTO.

U.S. and Taiwanese officials will continue to ramp up efforts to lift bilateral data localization requirements and revise multi-pack labeling requirements, said the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in a press release. The officials concluded on April 4 a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) Council meeting. The U.S. parties to the talks included State, Agriculture, Commerce, and Treasury Departments, as well as the Copyright Office and the Food and Drug Administration. The officials also pledged cooperation at multilateral forums, such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). “The two sides updated each other on regional and multilateral initiatives,” said the release. “They highlighted their close cooperation on various initiatives in APEC, their work towards the prompt conclusion of a balanced and commercially significant expansion of the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) at the WTO, achieving entry into force and full implementation of the WTO trade facilitation agreement, and efforts to advance the Trade in Services Agreement negotiations.”

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) outlined on April 4 the non-tariff barriers U.S. telecommunications service and equipment suppliers companies face when exporting goods and services. According to a release, USTR will target its efforts to address the following trade barriers:

China requested the establishment of a World Trade Organization (WTO) panel to contest U.S. Commerce Department antidumping proceedings, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said on April 7. The proceedings involved a number of imported products from China, including the following: