U.S. and European Union officials recently proffered initial Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) tariff rate exchanges, in a bid to open European markets for U.S. manufacturing and agricultural sectors, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said in Feb. 17 remarks prior to two days of meetings with European Union Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht in Washington D.C. “As President Obama emphasized last week, a transatlantic agreement will increase exports, support jobs, and promote growth on both sides of the Atlantic,” said Froman. The next formal TTIP negotiating round due to take place March 10-14 in Brussels, Froman said (see 14012901).
Japanese trade negotiators continue to fall short of meeting U.S. market access demands for the automotive sector in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) pact, said the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in a Feb. 15 press release that followed a summit between USTR chief Michael Froman and Japan’s Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy Akira Amari in Washington D.C. The U.S. is requesting concessions on Japanese automobiles and agriculture that would bring significant domestic political pressure to the Japanese government, said Japanese Ambassador to the U.S. Kenichiro Sasae in January (see 14013130). The next TPP ministerial will be held from Feb. 22-25.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) closely incorporates industry representatives, labor unions, environmental groups, consumer groups, health groups, state and local government, and academia in trade negotiation debate, the Office of the USTR said in a recent blog post, in an apparent effort to push back against union allegations to the contrary.
The Obama administration will continue to push the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership in order to boost exports and fuel economic growth, said U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman on Feb. 12. Froman applauded Commerce Department statistics released on Feb. 11 that said more than half of U.S. states grew exports in 2013 (see 14021115). “California, whose largest export market was Mexico, saw its exports climb by over $6 billion to $168.1 billion last year,” said Froman in a release. “Washington State, selling products ranging from transportation equipment to computers and electronics, saw their exports increase by over $6 billion to $81.9 billion. South Carolina sold nearly $1 billion more in goods and services to the world, exporting a total of $26.1 billion in 2013. In the Northeast, Connecticut broke their previous record with a total of $16.5 billion in exports. And Colorado’s exports increased by over $500,000 to $8.7 billion.”
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released on Feb. 12 its 2013 Notorious Markets List, which identifies key cyber and physical locations that host trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy on a commercial scale, along with other intellectual property (IP) rights infringements. The release is the result of the fourth Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets, initiated in September 2013 through a request for public comment published in the Federal Register. The list includes dozens of online marketplaces that facilitate IP violations, some with unconfirmed bases. The list also includes particular physical marketplaces, such as malls, markets and wholesale centers, in Argentina, China, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Paraguay, Spain, Thailand and Ukraine.
U.S. Trade Representation (USTR) Michael Froman announced on Feb. 10 the U.S. is asking for World Trade Organization consultations (WTO) with India over alleged discrimination against U.S.-manufactured solar cells, modules and related equipment. Through the WTO dispute settlement consultations, the U.S. will try to dismantle Indian forced localization barriers that violate WTO trade agreements, said Froman, speaking at USTR headquarters in Washington D.C.
Foreign copyright piracy and “market access barriers” to U.S. copyrighted material have a “significant negative financial impact on the U.S. economy and content creators,” said the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) in comments submitted to the U.S Trade Representative (USTR) in its Special 301 review, according to an IIPA release (here). USTR's Special 301 review asks for comments to “address the theft of intellectual property” and other copyright concerns, said the IIPA release. China, India, Russia and Vietnam should be on the USTR Priority Watch List, said the IIPA, in the release. China and Canada are a “particular concern” for the publishing industry, said the Association of American Publishers (AAP), an IIPA member, in its USTR comments, according to an AAP release (here).
Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Wendy Cutler will participate in a roundtable with local public and private sector leaders in Fort Worth, Texas on Feb. 12 to discuss the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations and other aspects of the U.S. trade agenda, USTR said in a weekly schedule release. The meeting will be closed to the press. USTR officials this week also plan to deliver a number of speeches and hold several meetings with foreign officials.
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) said in a Feb. 4 letter to House and Senate lawmakers unions are not sufficiently consulted on Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations and, therefore, are unable to make assessments on the labor impact of the prospective trade pact. The AFL-CIO has a seat on the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Labor Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations (LAC).
U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Michael Froman is scheduled to travel to Santiago, Chile and Lima, Peru from Feb. 3-5 to discuss concluding Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, the Office of the USTR said in a weekly schedule release. Froman also plans to address additional bilateral issues with both countries, the release said. The Japanese and Vietnamese ambassadors to the U.S. on Jan. 29 called for conclusion of TPP negotiations by April (see 14013130). Froman also plans to meet with German Bundestag member Peter Beyer on Feb. 5 in Washington D.C. to discuss Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations, a USTR spokesman confirmed. Froman previously planned to convene with Danish Trade Minister Nick Haekkerup on Feb. 5, but that meeting is cancelled due to a Danish cabinet shuffle, added the USTR spokesman. All the summits mentioned are closed press.