U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Michael Froman will participate in a U.S.-European Union summit on March 26 with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and President Barack Obama in Brussels, Belgium, the Office of the USTR said in its weekly schedule. Acting Deputy USTR Wendy Cutler will also join a panel discussion at the U.S.-Japan Council focused on Japanese efforts to expand the participation of women in its economy, said USTR.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) intends to launch negotiations within three months on a World Trade Organization agreement on comprehensive elimination of tariffs on environmental goods, said USTR Michael Froman in March 21 letters to Speaker of the House John Boeher, R-Ohio, and Senate President Pro Tempore Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. The agreement would boost U.S. environmental good exports by breaking down trade barriers with foreign partners and strengthen the global effort to preserve the environment.
The Philippines is making significant strides towards improving intellectual property rights protection and labor conditions as part of the U.S.-Philippine Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, said the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) following a bilateral meeting on the agreement. The officials at the meeting, including assistant USTR Barbara Weisel, also discussed bilateral rice and meat trade, according to USTR. The Philippine restrictions on rice imports may violate World Trade Organization agreements, according to local media (here). The U.S. is interested in permitting the restrictions to continue, in exchange for meat market access concessions, according to the local media report. The two sides also discussed Philippine accession to the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during the meeting, said USTR. The Office of the USTR did not respond for comment.
U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Michael Froman will speak at the German Marshall Fund’s Brussels Forum, alongside EU Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht, on March 22, the Office of the USTR said in an update to its weekly schedule release. The two officials are the lead negotiators in Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership talks.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is asking for nominations for membership on the USTR Trade Advisory Committee on Africa. USTR is also announcing the renewal of the committee charter for four more years. The committee advises USTR on trade and development policy advice for Africa. Nominations for current vacancies should be received by April 18. USTR will consider nominations on a rolling basis following that date to fill vacancies through the expiration of the charter on March 17, 2018. Nominations should be submitted to USTR official Tiffany Enoch IAPE@ustr.eop.gov. For alternatives to email submission, contact Enoch at (202) 395-6120.
U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Michael Froman will speak at the Atlantic Annual Economy Summit on March 18, the Office of the USTR said in a weekly schedule release. Later that day, Froman will meet with Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO. Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Wendy Cutler will also deliver remarks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership at Georgetown University on March 20.
The March 2012 amendments to the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement will take effect on April 5, said the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The amendments (here) apply to the following parties to the 1994 WTO Agreement on Government Procurement: the U.S., Canada, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Israel, Lichtenstein, Norway, European Union, Iceland, and Singapore.
The U.S. continues to pressure South Korea to dismantle non-tariff barriers on U.S. auto exports to the country under the U.S.-South Korea free trade agreement (FTA), while pressing South Korean officials to reform customs provisions that currently require U.S. exporters to produce excessive, trade-inhibiting documentation, said Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Wendy Cutler during a conference call with reporters on March 13. USTR has invited U.S. customs officials to work with their South Korean counterparts to reshape the South Korean customs program designed to verify rules of origin, said Cutler.
The U.S. and Japan failed to reach consensus on Trans-Pacific Partnership market access for agricultural products deemed sensitive by Japan during two days of talks between Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Wendy Cutler and Japanese deputy chief negotiator Hiroshi Oe, said USTR in a press release. Delegations from both sides will continue to meet through March 14, said USTR. "During the past two days, Acting Deputy USTR Cutler stressed the critical importance of securing meaningful market access for U.S. agricultural products, in line with the goal of pursuing a high-standard, comprehensive outcome that all TPP members -- including Japan -- agreed to when joining the negotiations," said a USTR spokesman in an email, declining to comment on tariff proposals. The Japanese negotiator floated lower tariffs than previous offers, but the U.S. insists on comprehensive elimination, according to Japanese media (here). “Opinions on both sides are still wide apart. You could say our goal is not yet in sight,” said Oe in footage posted on a Japanese media website.
The U.S.-South Korea free trade agreement (FTA) is boosting U.S. agriculture exports, such as dairy, wine, beer, soybean oil, fruits and nuts, while improving South Korean intellectual property rights protections, said the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in a statement released days shy of the two year anniversary of the trade pact. Despite slow poor economic growth in South Korea, the U.S. is also exporting an increasing number of manufacturing products to South Korea, such as autos, said USTR.