Nelson Cunningham, the administration's choice for deputy U.S. trade representative for the Western Hemisphere, Europe, the Middle East, labor and the environment, has had his nomination withdrawn. The position has been empty for more than six months.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will hold a virtual listening session about negotiations in the U.S.-Kenya Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership on May 16 at 10 a.m. Stakeholders who would like to attend should email MBX.USTR.IAPE@USTR.eop.gov by 6 p.m. May 15.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is seeking comments, requests to testify and written testimony on which countries should be included in the African Growth and Opportunity Act. Comments are due June 6, ahead of a June 27 hearing, at regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2024-0006. Parties may ask for the removal of any of the 32 countries currently covered by the AGOA trade preference, or argue for the reinstatement of countries that have been removed from the program, or have never been part of it, such as Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda or Zimbabwe.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai issued a statement of disappointment more than a week after Mexico announced that a panel decision had agreed with its argument that labor violations at a zinc mine in San Martín were not subject to the USMCA rapid response labor mechanism, because they occurred before USMCA replaced NAFTA (see 2404260055).

The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America's president told the U.S. trade representative that customs brokers and others in the trade community aren't "pro forced-labor, pro-pollution, pro-unsustainable environmental practices," but that too often, "‘race to the top’ objectives do not take into consideration the ability to actually implement the policies, and the costs associated with the goals."

In its annual report on how foreign countries honor intellectual property protections, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said Argentina, China, India, Indonesia, Chile, Russia and Venezuela still belong on the list of the worst offenders. Ukraine, which had once been in that group, is not being evaluated because of its invasion by Russia.

The U.S. and Mexico said they have agreed on a remediation plan for the RV Fresh Foods facility in Michoacán, a food manufacturer that produces guacamole.

The U.S. on April 16 requested the establishment of a USMCA dispute settlement panel to consider its rapid response labor complaint against a Mexican call center, marking only the second time the U.S. has requested that a panel be formed, according to an April 16 news release from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

The U.S. is asking Mexico to address alleged labor violations at Minera Tizapa, a Zacazonapan zinc mine owned by Industrias Penoles. Exports from the mine will have liquidation suspended until a remediation plan is approved.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is hosting two additional in-person hearings on how to promote U.S. supply chain resilience through trade negotiations or enforcement and one virtual hearing.