U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and Lao Minister of Industry and Commerce Khemmani Pholsena on Feb. 18 signed a bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, which will create a forum for the two countries to engage on issues such as capacity building and intellectual property, and to coordinate on multilateral and regional issues, including those that involve the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a press release. “Today’s agreement provides a vehicle for strengthening U.S.-Lao trade and investment relations,” Froman said in a statement. “It reflects President Obama’s commitment to ASEAN and it will promote increased economic opportunities between us.” Bilateral trade between the U.S. and Laos has increased five-fold since 2011 to $70 million, including an 800 percent increase in agricultural trade, to $8 million.

On the heels of the U.S.’ Feb. 4 signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership with 11 other pact nations, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman on Feb. 12 during a speech in Munich (here) charged forward the Obama Administration’s campaign for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, saying it can strengthen a U.S.-European Union relationship that sees $2 billion of goods traded across the Atlantic Ocean every day. “After making steady progress for more than two and a half years, we have the opportunity to bring these negotiations to a successful close. The Obama Administration is prepared to make every effort to conclude T-TIP, but to do so, we need both sides to apply the necessary political will,” Froman said. A “strong, unified and confident Europe is very much in the interest of the United States and the broader international community.”

Counterfeiting and failure by foreign governments to implement or enforce laws to counter the crimes are harming U.S. businesses, industry said in comments filed on Feb. 5 to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (here). USTR asked for industry comments to help craft its 2016 Special 301 Review of Notorious Markets. Canada, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Indonesia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Ukraine, and Venezuela should be added to the watch list; and China, Honduras, Philippines, Russia, and Turkey should be added to the priority watch list, the American Apparel and Footwear Association said in its comments (here).

Strengthening trade and investment relationships between the U.S. and Africa should translate to a growing market for U.S. exports, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman told the International Trade Commission on Jan. 28, during an ITC hearing focusing on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and other potential growth initiatives for the continent, according to prepared remarks (here). With Chinese imports from Africa dropping by 50 percent, from $110 billion in 2014 to $50 billion in 2015, growth in Africa will depend more on new sources of demand in agricultural and manufacturing trade, internal integration, and in “capitalizing on the continent’s boom in Internet access and mobile use,” Froman stated.

Foreign tariffs on made-in-America car engines, U.S. paint, hammers, and optical fiber will be cut to zero under the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and the reductions will affect products made in all 50 states, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman told the U.S. Conference of Mayors in on Jan. 20 in Washington, according to prepared remarks. The speech continues the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s push to sell national and local legislators on the deal, after Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Robert Holleyman met with New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu and regional industry officials for a business roundtable to tout how TPP could help Louisiana exports and jobs, according to a Jan. 19 press release (here). Made-in-America engines, U.S. paint exports, hammers, and optical fiber are currently tariffed at 50, 25, 20 and 20 percent, respectively, Froman said.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative recently took under consideration an additional five tariff subheadings covering handbags and travel goods for addition to the list of products eligible for the Generalized System of Preferences, according to its notice of petitions accepted for the 2015-16 GSP review (here). USTR released the list on Jan. 11 (see 1601110039), and added the new subheadings -- 4202.92.30.20, 4202.92.30.31, 4202.92.30.91, 4202.92.90.26 and 4202.92.90.60 – as a correction later that day. The ITC on Jan. 19 said (here) it will consider the subheadings in its investigation on possible GSP modifications (see 1601150031).

The International Trade Commission started an investigation titled “Generalized System of Preferences: Possible Modifications, 2015 Review,” per the U.S. Trade Representative's Dec. 30 request, to give advice and information relating to the “possible designation of articles, removal of articles, and waiver of competitive needs limitations,” it said (here). ITC will host a public hearing on the matter on Feb. 24. Hearing and comment submission deadlines are as follows:

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative directed CBP to allow importers to send electronic images of an appropriate export visa from sub-Saharan beneficiaries under the African Growth and Opportunity Act when claiming preferential treatment for entries of textile and apparel products under the agreement, USTR said (here). USTR’s guidance specifically calls on the CBP commissioner to allow importers to provide an appropriate export visa submitted electronically via the Document Image System or other approved functionality in the Automated Commercial Environment or successor system. "A shipment still must be visaed by stamping an original circular visa, in blue ink only, on the front of the original commercial invoice," it said. The USTR directions modify 2001 instructions for implementing the use of ACE for eligible textile and apparel products that are entered or withdrawn from a warehouse for consumption, said USTR.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is requesting written submissions from the public by Feb. 5 concerning foreign countries that “deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights” or deny fair market access to U.S. citizens who rely on intellectual property protection, a notice published Jan. 11 in the Federal Register states (here). In advance of a March 1 public hearing to be hosted by USTR’s Special 301 Subcommittee, USTR is asking that the public identify whether a particular trading partner should be named as a priority foreign country under Section 182 of the Trade Act or placed on the Priority Watch List or Watch List. Foreign governments will have until Feb. 19 to submit written comments, notices of intent to testify at the hearing, and any prepared hearing statements. USTR plans to publish the 2016 Special 301 Report on or close to April 30.

The Generalized System of Preferences Subcommittee of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) has accepted for review 23 petitions to add a product to the list of goods eligible for GSP duty-free treatment, three petitions to remove an item from GSP eligibility, and eight petitions to waive competitive needs limitations (CNLs), as part of its annual GSP product review, according to a notice published in the Federal Register Jan. 11 (here). Acceptance of the petitions indicates only that TPSC found that they warrant a review.