The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative recognizes the calls and need for transparency in the TTIP negotiation process, said Dan Mullaney, assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Europe and chief U.S. TTIP negotiator, during a press conference July 13. “There is an intense focus on transparency,” he said, calling it “a need we take very seriously.” Mullaney pointed to the opportunities for stakeholder input and engagement as examples of the process’s transparency, as well as the USTR letter to Congress in March notifying legislators of USTR’s objectives going into the negotiations (here). USTR received 370 comments from stakeholders prior to the first round of negotiations and had 350 stakeholders attend stakeholder engagement events during last week’s round, including 50 stakeholders that gave presentations to the negotiators (see 13071113), he said. “We’re working very hard to conduct an open and transparent process.”

Over a hundred lawmakers emphasized the need to maintain the “yarn forward” import policy with Vietnam in a letter to the U.S. Trade Representative (here). The policy mandates duty-free Vietnamese apparel is manufactured with regional textiles. The Vietnamese government, as part of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, is seeking to alter that policy to permit use of Chinese textiles. The lawmakers argued such a policy alteration would cost half a million U.S. jobs.

Correction: The withdrawal of Generalized System of Preferences benefits for Bangladesh will take effect Sept. 3, according to a Presidential Proclamation set for publication in the July 2 Federal Register.

The White House will work towards World Trade Organization negotiations on tariff reductions on environmental goods and clean energy technologies as part of its Climate Action Plan, said the U.S. Trade Representative June 28. USTR said current tariffs on technologies such as solar and wind can be as high as 35 percent, adding to their cost of deployment. The WTO push will come on top of a U.S.-led Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum initiative to reduce tariffs on 54 environmental goods to five percent or less by 2015, USTR said (see 12092006). The APEC agreement can serve as a foundation for the WTO negotiations, it said.

Prior to its impending expiration next month, the U.S. Trade Representative released its seventh report to Congress about the Andean Trade Preference Act. Among the original four beneficiary countries -- Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru -- Ecuador is the only remaining beneficiary and will undergo examination for eligibility. As of May 15, 2012, Colombia is no longer an eligible beneficiary country since the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement entered into force.

Newly appointed U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman met with Canada’s Minister of International Trade Ed Fast to reaffirm their commitment to the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement on June 25. As the largest U.S. trading partner, Canada will continue to work bilaterally with the U.S. “to create new sources of prosperity and jobs on both sides of the border,” the USTR said.

U.S. Trade Representative Mike Froman and President Obama will focus on expanded intraregional trade, bilateral investments, and reducing trade barriers in the development of Africa’s sustainable economic growth during a trip to the region. Speaking at the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition conference on June 25, Froman said there is “tremendous upside potential” for U.S.-Africa trade that could also boost exports and jobs within the United States.

In a 93-4 vote, the Senate confirmed Michael Froman to be the new U.S. Trade Representative June 19. Froman is “trusted and well-respected by our partners around the world, and for the last several years, he’s been a driving force behind our international economic agenda,” said President Obama in a statement (here). Froman previously served as Deputy National Security Advisor (see 13050221). Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said Froman is “the right man for the job at just the right time,” and said he looks forward to working with Froman on upcoming trade deals and securing Trade Promotion Authority (read Baucus’ statement here). During his June 6 nomination hearing, Froman said Obama had personally requested TPA negotiations (see 13060722).

The U.S. should focus on eliminating tariffs, harmonizing trusted trader programs and making flexible rules of origin as negotiating objectives with Japan, industry groups told the U.S. Trade Representative’s office in comments posted on June 10. The comments, 89 in all, were submitted to help USTR craft negotiating objectives with Japan as part of the ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement negotiations (see 13050608).

The U.S. Trade Representative's office is seeking comment on its Special 301 investigation of Ukraine, over concerns about the country's treatment of intellectual property rights. Ukraine was named a Priority Foreign Country in USTR's 2013 Special 301 Report; the agency launched its investigation May 30 (see 13053029). USTR is holding a public hearing on the investigation July 18 at the agency's offices in Washington, D.C. Persons wishing to testify orally should provide a notification by June 27; written version of hearing testimony is due July 11. Testimony can be submitted to www.regulations.gov.