The chief trade negotiators for the 12 Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) participant nations made progress toward negotiation conclusion on customs, telecommunications, sanitary and phytosanitary issues, technical barriers to trade, cross border services and labor TPP chapters during four days on meetings Sept. 18-21 in Washington, D.C., said the U.S. Trade Representative in a press release.

Should the Obama administration enact legislation or apply retaliatory tariffs to address Chinese currency manipulation, U.S. employment and economic recovery will suffer, said American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) President and CEO Kevin Burke in a letter to the U.S. Trade Representative Sept. 20. In preparation for an Oct. 4 hearing, USTR requested comment in August on Chinese commitment to the World Trade Organization (WTO) (see 13081409).

The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has requested public comments on the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute over U.S. antidumping and countervailing duties placed on South Korean large residential washers. The South Korean government said on Aug. 29 it wants to begin negotiations with the U.S. to resolve the dispute. If the parties don’t establish a compromise after a 60-day consultation period expires following the Aug. 29 date, the South Korean government may request a WTO panel to decide the case (see 13082912). Comments should be submitted to USTR by Oct. 11 via www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2013-0031, or by contacting Sandy McKinzy at (202) 395-9483.

The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced country-by-country allocations of Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 in-quota quantity of the tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) for imported raw cane sugar, refined sugar (syrups and molasses), specialty sugar and sugar-containing products. The TRQs are effective Oct. 1. The Department of Agriculture initially announced on Sept. 13 that the TRQ in-quota quantity for FY 2014 raw cane sugar totals 1,117,195 metric tons raw value (MTRV), allocated in the following fashion:

The liberalization of U.S.-Turkey trade and investment was a top agenda item during a Sept. 16 meeting in Washington, D.C. between U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Michael Froman and Turkish Minister of Economy Zafer Caglayan, the USTR said in a press release. The bilateral economic ties fall under a new High Level Committee (HLC), announced by President Obama in May. The two officials requested their technical teams also explore how Turkey will be affected by the U.S.-EU Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.

The U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and trade (JCCT) remains a vital avenue to address bilateral trade and investment issues, as U.S. exports to China continue to climb, said co-chair and Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Wendy Cutler at the JCCT mid-year review in Beijing on Sept. 11. U.S. goods exports to China rose to $110.6 billion in 2012, the USTR said, constituting a 6.4 percent increase from the previous year. Though "significant and complex challenges" in trading with China, "the U.S.-China trade relationship has a strong foundation and will continue to yield substantial dividends for both countries," said co-chair Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Francisco Sánchez. “We continue to look for opportunities such as the JCCT process to resolve key trade and investment barriers in China, to ensure our shared prosperity, and to broaden cooperation on key issues with a view toward making it easier to for U.S. service providers and exporters to do business with China,” said Sánchez. Sánchez intends to leave office in a matter of weeks (see 13090506).

Deputy U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Miriam Sapiro reiterated calls for enhanced relations between the U.S. and Brazil during the Commission on Economic and Trade Relations under the U.S.-Brazil Agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation Sept. 11-12, the USTR said in a press release. The day before the commission meeting, Sapiro publicly exhorted both countries to ramp up bilateral small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) economic interconnection, innovation and investment and to eliminate trade barriers (see 13091127). USTR said the next commission meeting will be in Washington D.C. in 2014.

The U.S. and Brazil should increase small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) economic interconnection in order to ramp up exports to both markets and integrate SMEs elsewhere in the global market, said Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Miriam Sapiro, speaking in São Paulo Sept. 10. The U.S. is the largest economy in the world and Brazil ranks seventh, but bilateral trade accounts for only one quarter of one percent of worldwide trade, said Sapiro. Both governments should target bilateral efforts in innovation and investment increases and trade barrier eliminations, she said.

The October meeting of Asia-Pacific Partnership (TPP) leaders on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Bali will be “an important milestone” in concluding negotiations, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said Sept. 9, speaking to more than 170 industry, government and academic stakeholders during a conference call. The meeting will offer an opportunity for heads of state to deliver guidance to trade ministers in TPP, he said, adding that the USTR will keep the stakeholders apprised of developments regarding sensitive issues that remain outstanding in the negotiations. “We won’t make these decisions in isolation. And we will be proactive about getting your participation in this process,” Froman said.

Small business owners will have the opportunity to voice their concerns on existing European Union (EU) trade barriers during a series of roundtable discussions with U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) officials from Sept. 9 to Sept. 27. The roundtables will be held in cities throughout the U.S. and are billed as part of broader outreach efforts under the recently launched U.S.-EU Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP) negotiations. Email ITTNews@warren-news.com for a copy of the USTR news release and roundtable circuit schedule.