Foreign copyright piracy and “market access barriers” to U.S. copyrighted material have a “significant negative financial impact on the U.S. economy and content creators,” said the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) in comments submitted to the U.S Trade Representative (USTR) in its Special 301 review, according to an IIPA release (here). USTR's Special 301 review asks for comments to “address the theft of intellectual property” and other copyright concerns, said the IIPA release. China, India, Russia and Vietnam should be on the USTR Priority Watch List, said the IIPA, in the release. China and Canada are a “particular concern” for the publishing industry, said the Association of American Publishers (AAP), an IIPA member, in its USTR comments, according to an AAP release (here).

Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Wendy Cutler will participate in a roundtable with local public and private sector leaders in Fort Worth, Texas on Feb. 12 to discuss the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations and other aspects of the U.S. trade agenda, USTR said in a weekly schedule release. The meeting will be closed to the press. USTR officials this week also plan to deliver a number of speeches and hold several meetings with foreign officials.

The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) said in a Feb. 4 letter to House and Senate lawmakers unions are not sufficiently consulted on Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations and, therefore, are unable to make assessments on the labor impact of the prospective trade pact. The AFL-CIO has a seat on the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Labor Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations (LAC).

U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Michael Froman is scheduled to travel to Santiago, Chile and Lima, Peru from Feb. 3-5 to discuss concluding Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, the Office of the USTR said in a weekly schedule release. Froman also plans to address additional bilateral issues with both countries, the release said. The Japanese and Vietnamese ambassadors to the U.S. on Jan. 29 called for conclusion of TPP negotiations by April (see 14013130). Froman also plans to meet with German Bundestag member Peter Beyer on Feb. 5 in Washington D.C. to discuss Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations, a USTR spokesman confirmed. Froman previously planned to convene with Danish Trade Minister Nick Haekkerup on Feb. 5, but that meeting is cancelled due to a Danish cabinet shuffle, added the USTR spokesman. All the summits mentioned are closed press.

U.S. and Panamanian officials convened in recent days the inaugural meeting of the Labor Affairs Council (LAC) under the U.S.-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said in a Jan. 28 statement. In the coming days, officials will convene inaugural bilateral environmental meetings under the U.S.-Panama trade pact and bilateral Environmental Cooperation Agreement, said USTR.

The fourth round of Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations is scheduled to take place March 10-14 in Brussels, Belgium, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said in a Jan. 28 press release. USTR Michael Froman will also convene with European Union Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht Feb. 17-18 in Washington D.C. to diagnose progress made in the first three rounds of talks, said USTR.

Assistant USTR for Africa Florie Liser is scheduled on Jan. 29 to participate in several Trade Africa and African Growth and Opportunity Act meetings and events closed to the press in Mombasa, Kenya, the USTR weekly schedule said. Among other USTR events scheduled this week, Acting Deputy USTR Wendy Cutler will deliver on Jan. 30 a keynote address on the U.S.-China trade and investment relationship at the Forecast 2014 conference of the U.S.-China Business Council in Washington D.C. The speech will also be closed to the press.

A tobacco carve-out in a final Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement is the only means to avoid obstruction in state and local law enforcement of tobacco regulations and, in effect, prevent widespread loss of life from use of the product, said attorneys general from 44 U.S. states and territories in a Jan. 27 letter to U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Michael Froman. “Experience has shown that state and local laws and regulations may be challenged by tobacco companies that aggressively assert claims under bilateral and multilateral trade and investment agreements, either directly under investor-state provisions or indirectly by instigating and supporting actions by countries that are parties to such agreements,” said the letter. “Such agreements can enable these tobacco companies to challenge federal, state, and local laws and regulations under standards and in forums that would not be available under United States law.” The current USTR tobacco proposal fails to recognize the unique status of tobacco as a fatal product, said the letter.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is soliciting applications for candidates to serve as panelists in dispute settlement proceedings under the U.S. - Panama Trade Promotion Agreement. In addition to the dispute settlement roster, the trade agreement (here) requires the establishment of rosters of panelists for financial services, labor and environment. The qualifications necessary for successful candidates include expertise or experience in law, international trade, international trade arbitration and other matters in the agreement, along with objectivity. Candidates must submit a thorough application via www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2014-0002, by March 14.

The implementation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) trade facilitation agreement brokered in December is the body’s chief current priority, said U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman at a WTO mini-ministerial on Jan. 25 on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. WTO officials must also resist returning to dysfunctional gridlock, and continue to make concessions to broaden its purview, said Froman. “If we are going to look at export competition in agriculture, we also need to look at the full range of agriculture issues, including market access, the role of state trading enterprises, export restraints, and all of the other factors that cause distortions in agricultural trade,” said Froman. Export competition generally refers to export subsidies and other forms of state assistance for exports.