The U.S. and Japan agreed on new terms and conditions that pave the way for more exports of U.S. beef and beef products to Japan, said U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Monday. Under the agreement, which is effective Feb. 1, Japan will permit the import of beef from cattle less than 30 months old, compared to the previous limit of 20 months, among other things. The changes could mean hundreds of millions of dollars in exports of U.S. beef in coming years, they said. The pact also “goes a long way toward normalizing trade” by addressing long-term restrictions introduced by Japan in response to bovine spongiform encephalopathy. The governments also agreed to regular and ad hoc progress reviews.

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk confirmed Jan. 22 that he intends to depart the position in late February, as he had indicated about a month ago. "It has been no less than my greatest professional privilege to serve President Barack Obama alongside the dedicated professionals of USTR," Kirk said (here).

The U.S. and Thailand agreed to expand cooperation on bilateral, regional, and multilateral issues in order to increase trade, during a two-day meeting under their Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) that ended Jan. 16. They also discussed advancing the U.S.-ASEAN Enhanced Economic Engagement Initiative announced by President Obama and the ASEAN Leaders last November, as well as ways to coordinate approaches in APEC and the WTO, said the Office of U.S. Trade Representative.

The U.S. agreed with Peru on a five-point action plan to support Peru's forestry sector reform efforts and its implementation of its obligations under the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement Annex on Forest Sector Governance, said the Office of U.S. Trade Representative after meetings last week in Lima. The agreement involves sustainable management of bigleaf mahogany and Spanish cedar, which are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Details of the action plan were to be included in the joint communique, which wasn't immediately available.

The U.S. is requesting consultations with Indonesia under the dispute settlement provisions of the World Trade Organization on trade-restrictive measures, said U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk. The U.S. said Indonesia created "a complex web of import licensing requirements" that unfairly restrict U.S. exports and appear to be designed to protect Indonesia's domestic agriculture industry.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative seeks comment by Jan. 31 on whether to recommend that duty-free treatment for imports from Bangladesh under the Generalized Systems of Preferences be withdrawn, suspended or limited because Bangladesh isn't taking steps to give workers internationally recognized worker rights, specifically the rights of association and to organize and bargain collectively.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative corrected its Dec. 17 Federal Register notice on the trade surplus in sugar and syrup goods and sugar containing products for Latin American companies (see ITT's Online Archives 12121412), it said in a Federal Register notice scheduled for Jan. 2.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is seeking comments on countries that parties believe deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protection under the so-called "Special 301" provisions of the Trade Act, it said in a Federal Register notice scheduled for Dec. 31. The information will be used, among other things, for creation of the 2013 "Priority Watch List" and "Watch List."

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced the disposition of a petition on pinch-seal plastic bags that were accepted in the 2011 GSP Annual Product Review. It also said those petitions submitted in connection with the 2012 Generalized System of Preferences Annual Product Review which have been accepted for further review and set the schedule for submitting comments and for public hearings associated with the 2012 review of petitions and products.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is seeking comment on the U.S. request for the establishment of a dispute settlement panel, on Argentine limits on the import of goods into Argentina, at the World Trade Organization (www.wto.org, document WT/DS444/10). (For details see ITT's Online Archives 12120619.)