Just as the U.S. trade representative declined to continue work toward a traditional free trade agreement with the U.K. begun during the previous administration, current USTR Katherine Tai announced July 14 that trade talks with Kenya will deal with trade facilitation, digital trade, science-based sanitary and phytosanitary rules and rooting out forced labor in supply chains -- not reducing tariffs on either side.

Mexico's Undersecretary for Foreign Trade Luz Maria de la Mora said that Mexico is working to complete the goals of the trade facilitation chapter in USMCA, so that with transparency and information sharing, even small businesses can access expedited release. De la Mora, who spoke in Spanish during a press conference in Vancouver, Canada, also attended by U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Canada's trade minister. She said that all three countries have the goal of secure borders, but also borders that allow businesses to be competitive.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Deputy USTR Jayme White will travel to Vancouver, Canada, for meetings July 7-8 with Canada's trade minister Mary Ng and Mexico's Economy Secretary Tatiana Clouthier.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is soliciting comments on a strategy to combat forced labor, at Regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2022-0006. Although CBP is the primary agency responsible for preventing goods made with forced labor from reaching customers in the U.S., USTR is conducting an interagency review of existing trade policies and tools to combat forced labor, "to determine areas that may need strengthening and gaps that may need to be filled." Comments are due by Aug. 5.

Ethiopia was exporting more than $100 million annually of apparel and textiles to the U.S. before it was ousted from the African Growth and Opportunity Act program over civil strife, and a prominent apparel firm and apparel trade group are asking that it be restored.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, after meeting with Kenya's trade minister on the sidelines of the World Trade Organization's ministerial conference, said the two countries "could develop an ambitious roadmap for enhanced cooperation and, where appropriate, explore negotiating high-standard commitments. The issues discussed include trade facilitation and customs, standards, services digital trade, environment and climate change, and agriculture."

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai talked with the 13 countries that have signed up for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework during a trip to Paris for an event at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and issued a statement that said she shared her vision for the trade pillar. Tai "explained her hope that the United States and IPEF partners that choose to join the trade pillar will seek to build high-standard, inclusive, free, and fair trade commitments and develop new and creative approaches in trade and technology policy that advance a broad set of objectives related to: labor; environment; the digital economy; agriculture; transparency and good regulatory practices; competition policy; and trade facilitation."

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced June 10 that it and the Dominican Republic have formed a working group to improve labor law enforcement in the sugar growing sector in the DR. "The group will be composed of representatives from both countries' responsible trade, labor, and foreign affairs ministries, with other agencies involved as needed. This joint endeavor takes into account the commitment of the two countries to enforce labor laws, including those regarding forced labor, improve labor conditions under the CAFTA-DR and in accordance with international standards, and continue their long-standing partnership on addressing these issues," the joint statement said.

A week before U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai heads to Geneva for the World Trade Organization's ministerial conference, she said she's excited for what the meeting could bring, though she avoided predicting that either an intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines would be approved, or that the 20-year fisheries negotiations would be closed.

The U.S. has brought another rapid response request, this time over an alleged violation of worker rights at the Teksid Hierro de Mexico plant in Frontera, Mexico. According to the parent company's website, the plant makes iron castings used in heavy trucks made by Volvo, Cummins, Mack Trucks and others. The owner of the company is Stellantis, the conglomerate that owns the Chrysler brand.