The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will continue to lead a Trans-Pacific Partnership chief negotiator meeting in Guam through May 28, topping off nearly two weeks of talks (see 1505120048). USTR Michael Froman will also meet with Brazil Ambassador to the U.S., Luiz Alberto Figueiredo Machado, on May 27 in Washington, USTR said in its weekly schedule. The agency didn't disclose details of the meeting. Deputy USTR Robert Holleyman will then give a trade speech to a publishers association in New York City on the same day. On May 28, Assistant USTR for Europe and the Middle East, Dan Mullaney, will join in on a U.S.-Ukraine Trade and Investment Council summit in Kiev. Those discussions are also closed to the press.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is allowing stakeholders to submit comments until June 11 on its decision to move forward with a World Trade Organization adjudication panel over broad Chinese export subsidies. USTR initially said comments would be accepted through May 12, which gave prospective commenters only one day to act (see 1502110022). The agency extended the comment period to June 11 in its correction (here). The U.S. formally launched the WTO challenge over the subsidies in February (see 1502110022).
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will continue to lead Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations in Guam over the course of the next week (see 1505120048). Deputy USTR Robert Holleyman will also travel to China and Mongolia from May 15-21 for talks on undisclosed subjects, USTR said in its weekly schedule. On May 18, USTR Michael Froman will meet with European Union Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan for a closed door meeting in Washington. Froman, U.S. Ambassador Michael Punke and acting Deputy USTR Wendy Cutler will also attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation trade ministerial on May 23 in Boracay, Philippines. USTR previously said TPP trade ministers would meet on the sidelines of the APEC summit.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is leading a chief negotiator meeting in Guam from May 15-28, an agency spokesman said on May 12. TPP ministers, including USTR Michael Froman, plan to "meet bilaterally" during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation trade ministerial in the Philippines from March 23-24, the spokesman said. "No decisions have been made on a TPP ministerial meeting and the 12 countries will do so when appropriate," he said. USTR didn't announce the Guam meetings in its weekly schedule (see 1505080021).
The World Trade Organization established an adjudication panel in a dispute between the U.S. and China over wide-ranging Chinese export subsidies, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said on May 11. The U.S. launched the dispute process with a request for consultations with the Chinese in February (see 1502110022). WTO members typically move ahead with a panel if consultations fail to yield a compromise.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will participate in a series of closed-door meetings in Washington over the course of the coming week, said the agency in its weekly schedule. Deputy USTR Robert Holleyman will speak to the Washington Council on International Trade on May 12, and chief USTR agriculture negotiator Darci Vetter will deliver closed-door remarks to the Washington Agriculture Roundtable. Holleyman will then participate in a White House briefing to small business on May 13. Later in the day, Holleyman will attend the American Business Conference’s Spring Meeting.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative struck a deal with Armenia to seal a bilateral trade and investment framework pact, the agency said on May 7. The pact creates a U.S.-Armenia Council on Trade and Investment, which will provide a forum to strengthen trade ties, said USTR. The U.S. only imported $96 million in Armenia goods in 2014, the agency said. Notable imports include aluminum, woven apparel, brandy, diamonds, and processed fruit and vegetables.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is asking for stakeholder comments on the admission of Mauritius in negotiations on the Trade in Services Agreement, a plurilateral pact brokered under the World Trade Organization (here). TISA negotiating partners accepted Mauritius into the talks in April, USTR said. Stakeholders may comment until June 8. The agency prefers stakeholders submit comments via http://www.regulations.gov, with docket number USTR–2015–0006.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative called out a range of countries for intellectual property rights violations on April 30 in its Special 301 Report . China and India were named to USTR’s Priority Watch List, the group of countries that host the largest-scale IP infringement. The 2014 Special 301 Report established an out-of-cycle review for India, and the agency later declined to label India a Priority Foreign Country, the most severe USTR classification for IP violations (see 1410140100).
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman will travel to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia May 4-8 for a ministerial round of Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, said the Office of the USTR in its weekly schedule. That summit follows committee approval in the House and Senate of Trade Promotion Authority, which supporters have said for months is necessary for TPP partners to float their best proposals (see 1504270008). Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also vowed to work with the U.S. to close TPP talks in an April 29 speech before Congress (see 1504290027). Prior to departing for Kuala Lumpur, Froman and U.S. Ambassador to the World Trade Organization, Michael Punke, will meet on May 4 with European Union Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom in Washington. Acting Deputy USTR Wendy Cutler will then on May 7 speak to the Footwear Distributors & Retailers of America Innovation Summit, which will also be held in Washington.