A U.S. readout of a trade meeting with Bangladesh said that Bangladesh would like to return to the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program -- which has been expired for two years. Bangladesh was cut from the program in 2013, after the disastrous Rana Plaza apparel factory collapse that killed more than 1,000 workers. In the last year it participated, Bangladesh exported almost $35 million worth of goods covered by GSP; it was not in the top 20 countries, as the bulk of Bangladesh's exports to the U.S. are textiles, apparel and footwear, none of which are covered by GSP.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and her EU counterpart Valdis Dombrovskis reviewed their civil aircraft working group's ongoing analysis "related to Chinese non-market policies and practices in the sector, such as industrial planning and targeting, discriminatory and anti-competitive activities of State- or Party- controlled entities, State-directed purchases, financial support, and forced technology transfer policies. They also exchanged views on the long-term risks to their market-oriented sectors from China’s state-directed industrial dominance goals." Tariffs on European goods and tariffs on U.S. exports related to the Airbus-Boeing subsidy dispute were lifted in June 2021, but the U.S. said its tariffs were paused for five years as the two sides try to work out a permanent agreement on subsidies and on protecting their industries from Chinese competition that they say is a result of oversubsidization and other trade abuses.

At the first U.S.-EU Trade and Labor Dialogue, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, Deputy Undersecretary of Labor for International Affairs Thea Lee and European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis talked about leveraging trade tools between the United States and the European Union to eliminate forced labor in the global economy," according to a USTR readout of the Dec. 5 meeting.

At a press conference at the end of the first day of the EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said that the U.S. and EU are "on track" to reach an agreement on preferencing trade in fairly traded clean steel and aluminum by next November. The two sides gave themselves that deadline when the U.S. said it was moving from tariffs on EU steel to a tariff-rate quota approach.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, at a Dec. 2 Atlantic Council event on trade with Africa, said members of Congress should really dig into the long-standing African Growth and Opportunity Act preference program, in preparation for its reauthorization in 2025.

A readout of a Dec. 1 meeting between U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Mexican Economy Secretary Raquel Buenrostro, a new appointee, said Tai "reiterated the importance" of Mexico imposing a ban on the import of goods made with forced labor. Tai also said it's urgent consultations over what the U.S. sees as discriminatory investment policies in Mexico's energy sector make "meaningful progress."

Stakeholders that wish to speak to officials in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and Commerce Department about their negotiating priorities for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework must email IPEF@ustr.eop.gov by Dec. 2 if they wish to speak in Brisbane, Australia, on Dec. 13, and by Dec. 5 if they want to speak Dec. 6 in Washington. Email subject lines should say "USTR/Department of Commerce Listening Session" for the domestic event and "Brisbane Stakeholder Event" to get an opportunity to speak on the sidelines of the negotiating round. The Dec. 6 event will run from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.; the Brisbane event, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. local time.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, who will be meeting later this week with French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire, released a readout of a video call the two had, in which she and her counterpart ''discussed France’s concerns over certain provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act. Ambassador Tai and Minister Le Maire agreed that the U.S. and European Union should work together to deepen the bilateral understanding of the legislation, which makes historic investments in green technology and clean energy in order to fight the climate crisis."

In a series of meetings on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai defended the Inflation Reduction Act, as well as talked about how implementation of it could be shaped. She pitched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework as a way to address "current challenges" and realize new economic opportunities. And Tai talked about trade with China, both directly with her Chinese counterpart, and with Japan, where, the readout of her meeting with the Japanese trade minister said, Japan is prioritizing "tackling shared challenges posed by non-market economic policies and practices," which is another way of saying responding to Chinese overcapacity and subsidies.

Australia will host the first in-person negotiating round for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework in Brisbane, starting Dec. 10. "This will be an important opportunity to identify areas of consensus and continue developing the four IPEF pillars," Office of the U.S. Trade Representative spokesman Adam Hodge said. The round is scheduled to last through Dec. 15.