President Barack Obama nominated William Doyle to serve on the Federal Maritime commission for another term, the White House said.

White House Spokesman Jay Carney downplayed recent comments made by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., expressing strenuous opposition to the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities Act of 2014. Carney discussed the White House's ability to continue to press Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), considering Reid’s rejection of the bill during a press conference aboard Air Force One. “Leader Reid has always been clear on his position on this particular issue,” said Carney. “As the President said in the State of the Union address, he will continue to work to enact bipartisan trade promotion authority to protect our workers and environment and to open markets to new goods stamped ‘Made in the USA.’ And we will not cede this important opportunity for American workers and businesses to our competitors.” The Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities Act of 2014 is this year’s iteration of TPA. Reid on Jan. 29 reportedly said he would not take the legislation to the Senate floor (see 14013025).

President Barack Obama notified Congress in a Dec. 23 letter to Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, and president of the Senate, Vice President Joe Biden of his intent to designate Curaçao a beneficiary of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act and the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA). After the U.S. Trade Representative determines Curaçao is making substantial progress towards implementing and following customs procedures required in CBTPA, Curaçao will be eligible to receive CBTPA benefits.

The U.S. and Canada 2013 Implementation Report on the Beyond the Border Initiative shows some major progress towards implementing the agreement between the two countries, said the White House in a blog post . The report (here) looks at the ongoing work toward improved trade and travel between the two countries since the Beyond the Border initiative was started in 2011. ""Both countries have started to rely on the other’s offshore inspections of marine shipments to reduce the need for re-inspection at the land border," said the White House. "Also, the U.S. truck cargo pre-inspection pilot in Surrey, British Columbia, tested new approaches for conducting screening at the land border. We are building on these accomplishments to complete preclearance negotiations for all transportation modes."

President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Darci Vetter as Chief Agricultural Negotiator at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the White House said on Dec. 17. Following Senate confirmation, Vetter would replace outgoing Chief Agricultural Negotiator Islam Siddiqui (see 13121312). Vetter is currently Deputy Under Secretary in the Office of the Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

President Barack Obama plans to appoint John Donahoe, CEO of eBay, as a member of the President’s Export Council, the White House said Dec. 5. The President’s Export Council is comprised of private sector members, state and federal lawmakers and administration officials.

The Obama Administration's goals for the Asia-Pacific region include elimination of trade barriers, intellectual property rights protections (IPR) and uniform trade and investment rules, as part of the U.S. “rebalancing” effort in the region, said Vice President Joe Biden in a Dec. 6 speech at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea. Although those principles constitute the foundation of the Korean-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS), U.S. and Korean officials still must fully implement the pact, said Biden, according to a White House transcript.

The Chinese government should press ahead with pledged intellectual property and trade secret reforms, said Vice President Joe Biden on Dec. 5, speaking at an American Chamber of Commerce in Beijing and U.S.-China Business Council event. “The more China delivers on its proposed reforms the strong[er] our bilateral trade and investment relationship will be,” said Biden (here). “We have an opportunity to improve intellectual property protection, resolve outstanding trade disputes that are holding us back. We have an opportunity to significantly expand our cooperation on energy and climate change.”

The House Judiciary Committee reported on Dec. 2 the Innovation Act, a patent reform bill, and referred the amended legislation to the Union Calendar. Congressman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., introduced the legislation, HR-3309 (here) Oct. 23 (see 13110121). The legislation received bipartisan support on the Judiciary Committee, garnering 33 votes in favor to five opposing votes. The Obama Administration in a Dec. 3 press release commended the bill’s aim to increase transparency in patent infringement cases and limit legal fees.

Vice President Joe Biden departed for a six-day tour of the Asia-Pacific region on Dec. 1 that includes a Dec. 3 summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, where the two leaders are expected to discuss Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, the White House said. Biden is also scheduled to meet with South Korean President Park Geun-Hye on Dec. 6. South Korea formally expressed Nov. 29 its intent to join TPP negotiations (see 13112927). The U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman traveled to Vietnam Dec. 1 and Malaysia Dec. 2 for Trans-Pacific Partnership meetings, said the office of the USTR (see 13112721).