President Barack Obama expanded the scope of U.S. authority to impose sanctions on Congolese officials that destabilize the country. The order, which amends the 2006 Executive Order 13413, authorizes U.S. officials to block property and interests in property that are in the U.S. or come within the U.S., or that come into possession or control of U.S. persons, while prohibiting the transfer, payment or export to, and other dealings with the sanctioned officials. The revised order, like the initial order, authorizes the Secretary of Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to enter into force rules and regulations to carry out sanctions on individuals that violate the terms of the executive order. It also permits the Secretary of Treasury to delegate authority to other U.S. agencies in order to employ sanctions.

The Obama Administration on July 1 raised the threshold for notification requirements for high-performance computer exports to 8.0 weighted tera floating-point operations per second (TeraFLOPS) from the current 3.0 weighted TeraFLOPS. Under Section 1211 of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 1998, exporters of computers with performance specifications above the threshold must notify the Commerce Department before exportation to Computer Tier 3 countries listed in 15 CFR 740.7(d).

The U.S. and Chile will sign a Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement on the sidelines of a June 30 summit between President Barack Obama and Chilean President Michelle Bachelet Jeria at the White House, the administration said in a fact sheet on U.S.-Chile bilateral relations. Chile is the 70th country to sign a similar customs pact with the U.S., the fact sheet said. The pact will target strengthened cooperation on the prevention, detection, and investigation of customs offenses, such as duty evasion. U.S.-Chile two-way trade has grown to $28 billion since the bilateral free trade agreement entered into force in 2004, the White House said.

President Barack Obama issued a proclamation on June 26 to remove Swaziland as a beneficiary country under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), effective Jan. 1, 2015. The president did not remove South Africa, despite some speculation over recent months that South Africa may be graduated from the program. Obama also reinstated Madagascar into the AGOA program after terminating its benefits in 2009. The decision to end beneficiary status for Swaziland comes because the country failed to demonstrate sufficient progress on facilitating workers’ rights, primarily freedom of association and the right to organize, said the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in a press release following the proclamation. “The withdrawal of AGOA benefits is not a decision that is taken lightly,” said USTR chief Michael Froman. “We have made our concerns very clear to Swaziland over the last several years and we engaged extensively on concrete steps that Swaziland could take to address the concerns."

The Export-Import Bank is collaborating with the Office of the Inspector General to ensure there is no fraud in the credit agency’s financial dealings, said White House spokesman Josh Earnest during a June 24 press conference. The Wall Street Journal reported the day prior on investigations into corruption at the bank, including “gifts and kickbacks,” and associated suspension or removal of Ex-Im officials from office (here). The Export-Import Bank plays a critical role in providing jobs to American workers and facilitating U.S. exports, said Earnest. “The stakes here are pretty high. There is bipartisan agreement that there is a tangible contribution that Ex-Im is making to the American economy and to American job creation,” said Earnest. “We are hopeful that Congress will do what they’ve done many times in the past, and that is support the reauthorization of the Ex-Im Bank in bipartisan fashion.”

The U.S. and New Zealand are aiming to present a Trans-Pacific Partnership deal to their respective legislative bodies by the end of 2014, said President Barack Obama during June 20 remarks after a summit with New Zealand Prime Minister John Key. Obama is targeting November to “make a forceful argument to go ahead and close the deal,” after consulting with Congress, he said, adding that he will go on another Asia tour that month. Both heads of state emphasized, however, that more work needs to be done to close outstanding negotiating gaps.

The Colombian government continues to elevate labor and environmental standards, but more progress can be achieved, said Vice President Joe Biden during joint remarks with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos in Bogotá, Colombia on June 18. Some lawmakers and advocacy groups have recently criticized insufficient progress on a Colombian Action Plan Related to Labor Rights, a pact put into force in tandem with the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement (FTA). The critics say violence and intimidation against labor activists continues unabated (see 14040807).

The U.S. government and trade community is failing to sufficiently infiltrate emerging markets globally, particularly on the African continent, said President Barack Obama during remarks at a June 19 Export Council meeting. The African Leaders Summit, slated for August, will be a critical opportunity for the Obama administration and industry representatives to push market access opportunities, said Obama. “Some of these economies are doing very, very well, but we’re not penetrating those markets as well as we should,” said Obama, noting 6 out of the 10 fast growing economies worldwide are on the African continent. “That’s really what that continent is interested in. They’re not interested in aid as much as they are trade, development, and partnering with the private sector.” U.S. industry has been eyeing the summit as a forum to address improvements to the African Growth and Opportunity (AGOA) (see 14040402). Those that utilize AGOA say Congress must pass renewal legislation by the end of 2014 to maintain supply chains, in light of the AGOA's 2015 expiration.

The Obama administration supports passage of the Senate amendment to the House fiscal year 2015 appropriations legislation for the departments of Commerce and Justice, along with related agencies and science programs, the White House said in a June 17 statement. The Senate amendment provides omnibus appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies, Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies, and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies (see 14061610).

President Barack Obama called for executive branch agencies to work together on a plan to stem illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and seafood fraud in a June 17 memo. A task force made up of agency officials, including from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and Departments of Homeland Security, Commerce and Agriculture, will report to the President on "existing regulatory authorities" and "recommendations regarding further authorities that may be warranted," as well as "opportunities to address these issues at the international level through the regional fisheries management organizations as well as bilateral efforts, such as technical assistance and capacity building," the memo said. The task force will also "coordinate its efforts with other Presidential initiatives focused on related issues," including wildlife trafficking (see 14021126) and streamlined import processes (see 14021928).