The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Feb. 18 announcement to form a new Public Interest Trade Advisory Committee (PITAC) to advise Obama administration officials on trade negotiations will ramp up transparency and accountability, said the Center for Policy Analysis on Trade and Health (CPATH) in a Feb. 20 statement. Trade negotiations currently underway, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, have largely relied on industry input instead of considering public interest issues, said the statement.
European Union officials remain open to comprehensive elimination of tariffs through the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, said U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman in a statement following two days of talks with EU Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht in Washington D.C. "We both see opportunities to make substantial progress in the coming months, as well as some challenges," said Froman. "But our resolve and the political will to reach an ambitious, comprehensive agreement remain strong. Our negotiators will continue their intensive work during the period leading up to the next round, scheduled for the week of March 10, 2014 in Brussels.” The next TTIP round of negotiations is scheduled for March 10-14.
Japanese trade negotiators must continue to make auto and agricultural market access concessions in order to remain a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) participant, said U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman on Feb. 18 at a Center for American Progress event. The Feb. 15 summit with Japanese Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy Akira Amari yielded progress, however, said Froman (see 14021803).
U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Michael Froman will meet on Feb. 18 with European Union Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht in Washington D.C. to discuss on-going Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations, the Office of the USTR said in a weekly schedule release, following a meeting between the two officials on Feb. 17. Froman will also meet with U.S. Dairy Export Council and National Milk Producers Federation representatives on Feb. 18 in closed press talks and deliver a public speech at the Center for American Progress.
U.S. and European Union officials recently proffered initial Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) tariff rate exchanges, in a bid to open European markets for U.S. manufacturing and agricultural sectors, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said in Feb. 17 remarks prior to two days of meetings with European Union Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht in Washington D.C. “As President Obama emphasized last week, a transatlantic agreement will increase exports, support jobs, and promote growth on both sides of the Atlantic,” said Froman. The next formal TTIP negotiating round due to take place March 10-14 in Brussels, Froman said (see 14012901).
Japanese trade negotiators continue to fall short of meeting U.S. market access demands for the automotive sector in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) pact, said the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in a Feb. 15 press release that followed a summit between USTR chief Michael Froman and Japan’s Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy Akira Amari in Washington D.C. The U.S. is requesting concessions on Japanese automobiles and agriculture that would bring significant domestic political pressure to the Japanese government, said Japanese Ambassador to the U.S. Kenichiro Sasae in January (see 14013130). The next TPP ministerial will be held from Feb. 22-25.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) closely incorporates industry representatives, labor unions, environmental groups, consumer groups, health groups, state and local government, and academia in trade negotiation debate, the Office of the USTR said in a recent blog post, in an apparent effort to push back against union allegations to the contrary.
The Obama administration will continue to push the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership in order to boost exports and fuel economic growth, said U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman on Feb. 12. Froman applauded Commerce Department statistics released on Feb. 11 that said more than half of U.S. states grew exports in 2013 (see 14021115). “California, whose largest export market was Mexico, saw its exports climb by over $6 billion to $168.1 billion last year,” said Froman in a release. “Washington State, selling products ranging from transportation equipment to computers and electronics, saw their exports increase by over $6 billion to $81.9 billion. South Carolina sold nearly $1 billion more in goods and services to the world, exporting a total of $26.1 billion in 2013. In the Northeast, Connecticut broke their previous record with a total of $16.5 billion in exports. And Colorado’s exports increased by over $500,000 to $8.7 billion.”
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released on Feb. 12 its 2013 Notorious Markets List, which identifies key cyber and physical locations that host trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy on a commercial scale, along with other intellectual property (IP) rights infringements. The release is the result of the fourth Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets, initiated in September 2013 through a request for public comment published in the Federal Register. The list includes dozens of online marketplaces that facilitate IP violations, some with unconfirmed bases. The list also includes particular physical marketplaces, such as malls, markets and wholesale centers, in Argentina, China, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Paraguay, Spain, Thailand and Ukraine.
U.S. Trade Representation (USTR) Michael Froman announced on Feb. 10 the U.S. is asking for World Trade Organization consultations (WTO) with India over alleged discrimination against U.S.-manufactured solar cells, modules and related equipment. Through the WTO dispute settlement consultations, the U.S. will try to dismantle Indian forced localization barriers that violate WTO trade agreements, said Froman, speaking at USTR headquarters in Washington D.C.