U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Mike Froman and Bangladesh Ambassador to the U.S. Akramul Qader agreed July 25 to begin talks on actions to be taken towards addressing worker rights and safety in Bangladesh, USTR said in a press release. Officials from USTR and the Departments of Labor and State plan to discuss how to implement the Bangladesh Action Plan (see 13072215) with officials from Bangladesh, said the press release. USTR said Froman and Qadar also discussed the latest developments in worker rights, such as recent labor law reform.

Officials reported strong progress during the 18th round of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, which concluded July 25, said a press release from the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). Officials also welcomed Japan, which entered the negotiations as the 12th participating country just days before on July 23. With Japan’s entry, USTR said that TPP countries now account for “nearly 40 percent of global GDP and about one-third of all world trade.”

The Office of the United State Trade Representative (USTR) is now accepting petitions to modify the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) product list and to waive competitive need limitations (CNLs), according to a USTR public notification issued July 26. In order to be considered for the 2013 Annual GSP Review, the GSP Subcommittee of the USTR-chaired Trade Policy Staff Committee must receive relevant product petitions by Oct. 4 and relevant waiver petitions by Nov. 22. Interested parties should submit petitions via http://www.regulations.gov with the docket number USTR-2013-0024.

The United States Trade Representative (USTR) rescheduled its public hearing to investigate the intellectual property policies and practices of the Ukrainian government that resulted in Ukraine’s May 2013 identification as a Priority Foreign Country (see 13050201). According to the Trade Act of 1974 (here), countries that “deny adequate and effective protection for IPR” and “have the greatest adverse impact (actual or potential) on the relevant U.S. products” should be designated a PFC.

48 associations submitted a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Mike Froman on July 23 that emphasized the importance of “further trade liberalization” in Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, a press release said. Signatories representing small to large domestic enterprises in every major industry said that liberalization was needed both at home and abroad. The associations also said that further liberalization was needed across sectors like textiles and apparel, sugar, and footwear “that continue to receive relatively substantial protection from import competition compared to most other sectors.”

The Obama Administration published the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) action plan provided to the government of Bangladesh for the possible reinstatement of its trade benefits, according to a joint statement by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), the Department of Labor and State Department. USTR, which had previously discussed the plan only in broad outlines (see 13071613), said that making the action plan public was “a means to reinforce and support the efforts of all international stakeholders to promote improved worker rights and worker safety in Bangladesh.” The joint statement also said that the U.S. would join forces with the European Union, Bangladesh and the International Labor Organization (ILO) to implement goals from the Sustainability Compact, which are broadly consistent with the published GSP Action Plan.

The newly inducted United State Trade Representative (USTR) head Michael Froman testified before the House Ways and Means Committee July 18, facing questions across the broad spectrum of U.S. trade involvement. Led by Committee Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., the lawmakers placed particular emphasis on the need to conclude negotiations this year on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) pact and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

Negotiations to expand the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) in Geneva were suspended on July 17 because of China’s reluctance to cut duties, U.S. Trade Representative Mike Froman said. Froman said that “a diverse group of Members participating in the negotiations” had determined that China’s current position made further progress impossible (here). "We are hopeful that China will carefully consider the concerns it heard this week from many of its negotiating partners, and revise its position in a way that will allow the prompt resumption of the negotiations.”

Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Michael Punke reiterated various concerns about the European Union’s trade barriers, including high tariff protection and non-tariff barriers, in remarks to the World Trade Organization’s World Trade Policy Review of the EU on July 16. Despite the recent conclusion of the first round of negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), Punke emphasized that several concerns still remain regarding EU trade and investment policies.

Following the fifth round of U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) talks last week, USTR head Michael Froman praised bilateral progress in a July 12 press release. The S&ED aims to enhance mutual economic ties. The talks took place in Washington D.C. July 10-11. Froman lauded Chinese policy gestures that, according to the release, provide greater U.S. access to the Chinese market.