With ongoing negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the U.S. and the European Union (EU), multiple business federations and lobbying groups have stepped forward to push new efforts towards trade facilitation.

The U.S. and 15 member states of the Caribbean Community signed a trade and investment framework agreement May 29, an accord that creates an environment for bilateral talks to boost trade and investment, the U.S. Trade Representative said. The U.S. and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) originally signed an agreement establishing a Trade and Investment Council in 1991. The council was replaced by the new agreement. The new U.S.-CARICOM Council on Trade and Investment -- which will meet later this year -- will address issues such as trade facilitation, intellectual property rights, environmental protection, labor, and removing barriers to trade, USTR said.

The U.S. initiated a Special 301 investigation of Ukraine over concerns about the country’s treatment of intellectual property rights, Acting U.S. Trade Representative Miriam Sapiro said May 30. Ukraine was named a Priority Foreign Country in USTR’s Special 301 report, an annual look at intellectual property rights protection and enforcement (see 13050201). The report, released in early May, cited problems with Ukraine’s use of pirated software, online piracy enforcement and opaque and unfair administration and operation of copyright collecting societies.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and members of the interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee heard arguments for and against the interoperability of EU and U.S. privacy and intellectual property standards, during a Wednesday hearing on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Industry groups said TTIP should find the commonalities between U.S. and EU privacy and copyright policies to promote the free flow of data across borders, while consumer and privacy advocates said TTIP should not impose the restrictions of U.S. copyright policies on other countries or weaken EU privacy standards.

Negotiators made progress on trade remedies, dispute settlement, legal texts and sanitary standards at the most recent round of Trans-Pacific Partnership talks, which ended May 24, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office said. Tariff packages, rules of origin and market access issues were also discussed at the negotiations. Countries also discussed Japan’s entry into TPP, and agreed Japan can join if each member country successfully completes its own domestic process approving Japan’s entry. The U.S. approved Japan's entry in April (see 13041222). The next round of TPP talks is July 15-25. The stated goal for conclusion of the talks is October. A group of former USTRs, speaking at a May 20 panel discussion, agreed the deadline is possible, but only if President Obama makes a strong commitment and secures Trade Promotion Authority (see 13052114). “TPP is the ultimate coalition of the willing,” said Susan Schwab, USTR from 2005-2009 under President George W. Bush. “Therefore it should be doable.” The negotiations will face “obvious hurdles,” Schwab said -- others on the panel pointed to entrenched special interests, such as sugar and dairy in the U.S. -- but “one has to be optimistic.”

The U.S. and Myanmar (Burma) signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement May 21, which includes commitments from both countries to improve worker rights and promote development, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office said. The agreement is a stage for ongoing dialogue and cooperation on trade and investment issues, as well as Myanmar’s ongoing reforms. “Economic reforms and trade are mutually supportive,” Acting USTR Demetrios Marantis said in a statement. “Stronger institutions, transparency, and rule of law create stronger foundations for commercial transactions, trade and investment.”

U.S. Trade Representative nominee Michael Froman will shed his investments in various Citigroup funds within 90 days of his potential confirmation as USTR. Froman reported his investments, assets and which ones he intended to divest in May 6 submissions to the Office of Government Ethics. Froman said he will divest his interests in Citigroup Capital Partners I LP -- which he listed as between $1,001-$15,000 -- and Citigroup Employee Fund of Funds LP, which are between $50,001 and $100,000. Froman will also get rid of his interests in Citigroup Capital Partners II and CVC International Growth Partnership (Employee) II LP, each one estimated at between $500,001 and $1 million. Froman worked at Citigroup from 1999 to 2009 (see 13050221 for more on his background).

Continuation of benefits for Ecuador under the Andean Trade Preference Act stimulated a host of comments from industry: influential business groups such as the Chamber of Commerce urging against it, citing Ecuador’s “flouting” of international commitments, while import and export reliant businesses warned of job and revenue losses if Ecuador’s benefits expire. Tangled in the debate is also a decades-long case between Chevron and indigenous Ecuadorians over pollution of the country’s rain forest; and claims that the company wants to suspend U.S.-Ecuadorian trade relations as a punishment for the separate legal dispute. The comments, 117 in all, will be used to prepare a June 30 report the U.S. Trade Representative will submit to Congress. AT PA is set to expire this July (see 13040509 for more on the original Federal Register notice).

The U.S. Trade Representative is seeking comments on the World Trade Organization’s dispute settlement panel regarding Indonesia’s importation of horticultural and animal products. The U.S. claims Indonesia imposes burdensome and harmful restrictions on the import of such products (see 13041202). USTR will accept comments received during the entire course of the dispute settlement, but comments should be submitted by June 2 to assure timely consideration, USTR said.

The U.S. requested consultations with Bahrain over concerns about labor practices in violation of the U.S.-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement, the U.S. Trade Representative announced May 7. The consultations stem from a December 2012 Department of Labor report, conducted after the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) alleged Bahrain “acted inconsistently with its labor obligations under the FTA in response to civil unrest and national strikes in early 2011,” USTR said. The DOL report said that Bahrain took import steps to address labor issues, but the U.S. should still request FTA labor consultations to develop a plan with Bahrain to “address remaining concerns,” USTR said.