A coalition of 75 different food and agriculture groups urged President Barack Obama and other members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership to allow the entry of Japan as soon as possible, calling the country’s status as America’s fourth-largest agricultural export market. Adding Japan to the negotiations -- tentatively scheduled to finish in October -- will “exponentially increase the importance of the [Trans-Pacific Partnership] to U.S. farmers and ranchers, processors and exporters as well as other sectors of the U.S. economy,” said the March 26 letter from the groups. Japan’s entry will also spur interest in the TPP among other countries in Asia and Latin America, and “send a strong signal to other nations that efforts to negotiate more open and transparent regional trading arrangements will continue, even as multilateral efforts to do so are stymied.”

The U.S. Trade Representative requested International Trade Commission investigations into the economic effects of the elimination of tariffs on goods from the EU, both in general and with a specific focus on agricultural products. The reports would be used to assist the USTR in negotiating the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement with the EU, formally announced March 20 (see 13032105).

A dozen environmental organizations said they are concerned over U.S. accusations of trade discrimination in India’s solar program. “Challenging this program undercuts India’s efforts to pursue appropriate economic development and reduce poverty and to take urgently needed steps to tackle the pressing and shared challenge of climate change,” said the letter, sent to Acting U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis March 20 and signed by the Sierra Club, Greenpeace, Center for Biological Diversity and others. In February, USTR requested World Trade Organization dispute settlement consultations over India’s national solar program. The U.S. said the program’s forced localization requirements -- including requiring solar energy producers to use Indian-manufactured solar cells -- restrict U.S. access to India’s market (see 13020715).

Sequester-induced budget cuts plus an additional proposed cut in the budget plan currently moving through Congress could harm the U.S. Trade Representative’s ability to enforce and engage multiple trade deals, acting USTR Demetrios Marantis told the Senate Finance Committee March 19. At the hearing, senators pressed Marantis for action on Trade Promotion Authority -- “the sooner the better,” Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said -- and many also expressed concerns over Japan’s interest in joining Trans-Pacific Partnership talks, a topic of concern for House members as well (see 13031523).

The U.S. Trade Representative is seeking comments on potential changes to competitive need limitations under the Generalized System of Preferences program. Comments can be submitted on:

Imports of eligible products from Cote d’Ivoire now qualify for textile and apparel benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), according to the U.S. Trade Representative. The announcement, which makes changes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule to accommodate Cote d'Ivoire's inclusion in the list of AGOA countries, is effective March 19. The country has adopted an effective visa system and related procedures to prevent unlawful transshipment of textile and apparel articles and the use of counterfeit documents connected to shipping such articles, USTR said. The West African country is also making substantial progress toward implementing and following the customs procedures required by AGOA. Those procedures assist customs in verifying product origin. Importers claiming preferential tariff treatment under AGOA for entries of textile and apparel articles should ensure they meet applicable visa requirements., USTR said.

The Office of U.S. Trade Representative is seeking comments on Vietnam’s complaints about U.S. antidumping measures on certain types of shrimp 13030116. Vietnam requested the creation of a World Trade Organization dispute settlement panel over the dispute at the end of February. Comments can be submitted to www.regulations.gov, by April 16 to ensure timely consideration by USTR.

The U.S. wants establishment of a World Trade Organization dispute settlement panel on Indonesia’s “trade-restrictive measures” applied to horticultural products, animals and animal products, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk announced March 14. In a statement, Kirk called Indonesia’s measures “a complex web of import licensing requirements that, along with quotas, have the effect of unfairly restricting U.S. exports.” Indonesia implemented trade restricting import licensing requirements for horticultural products in 2011, the statement said. Affected products include fruits, vegetables, flowers, dried fruits and juices. The country has similar licensing and quota regimes for animals and animal product imports, the statement said. The U.S. is claiming Indonesia is acting inconsistently with several WTO obligations, including the general tariff agreement. The two countries held consultations on this issue in February, but concerns were not resolved, the statement said.

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk formally announced his resignation March 14 and named Demetrios Marantis acting USTR effective March 15. Marantis has been deputy USTR since 2009, focusing on trade negotiations and enforcement in Asia and Africa. In a statement, Kirk called Marantis “instrumental in successes from the completion of the U.S.-Korea trade agreement to the advancing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and beyond.” Before joining USTR, Marantis was chief international trade counsel for the Senate Finance Committee. Kirk confirmed he was leaving his post in January 13012310. President Obama has not nominated Kirk’s successor.

Customs, telecommunications, investment and phytosanitary measures were among the issues at least partially resolved at the most recent round of Trans-Pacific Partnership talks, which ended March 13 in Singapore, according to the U.S. Trade Representative’s office. Some negotiating groups -- including regulatory coherence, development, customs and telecommunications -- will not meet at the next negotiating round because of this progress, the USTR statement said. This will allow future talks to concentrate on the most challenging issues that remain, including “intellectual property, competition and the environment,” the statement said. The next TPP negotiating round will be May 15-24 in Lima, Peru.