Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Wendy Cutler will meet with Japanese trade negotiator Takeo Mori in Washington on March 23 to hammer out progress on bilateral auto trade issues in Trans-Pacific Partnership talks, the Office of the USTR said in its weekly schedule update (here). On March 25, USTR Michael Froman will then speak to a closed-door State Department meeting that brings together chief officers at U.S. diplomatic missions globally. Froman will then give remarks the next day to the National Council of Textile Organizations. Chief USTR agricultural negotiator Darci Vetter will also speak behind closed doors to the National Cattlemen's Beef Association on March 26. Assistant USTR for the Western Hemisphere John Melle will, on the same day, participate in a Central American Free Trade Agreement meeting in Santo Domingo.

The U.S. delegation in Geneva asked the World Trade Organization on March 18 to set up a dispute settlement panel over “wide-ranging” Indonesian restrictions on agricultural imports, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said. USTR called the Indonesian import license regime “trade-restrictive,” and said Indonesia continues to increase restrictions on the license regulations since first putting them in place in 2012. Indonesia also unfairly restricts imports of certain products and sales of agricultural products within the country, said USTR. The affected products cross the spectrum of meat, fruits and vegetables, the agency said. USTR Michael Froman and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, along with several lawmakers, applauded the U.S. request as another example of the Obama administration’s strong record on WTO disputes during a March 18 press conference.

U.S. and Pakistani senior officials reviewed progress on the Joint Action Plan for implementation of the bilateral trade and investment partnership (TIFA) on March 12, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a statement (here). The U.S. and Pakistan have made headway in facilitating Pakistani mango exports to the U.S. and U.S. live cattle exports to Pakistan, said USTR. The two sides announced the action plan nearly a year ago, and at the time vowed to use that forum to sharpen intellectual property rights protections and implement the World Trade Organization Trade Facilitation Agreement, among other goals (see 14051326). The March 12 meeting came between TIFA formal sessions, said USTR. The March 12 summit also followed a March 9-12 trade trip by the Commerce Secretary and 140 representatives from U.S. companies, across a wide range of sectors. USTR called that trip a "success."

U.S. Trade Representative chief textile negotiator Gail Strickler didn’t show up for the March 9-15 Hawaii round of Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations and her absence was widely noticed among stakeholders, industry officials said the day after the talks concluded. While notable, industry lobbyists differed on the impact of her absence. Nonetheless, textile talks with Vietnam are almost finished, said one lobbyist.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is taking a break from public events this week, following the wrap-up of Trans-Pacific Partnership chief negotiator talks in Hawaii (see 1503110066). USTR didn't respond for comment on the talks. Meanwhile, USTR Michael Froman will speak to a closed-door Business Forward event on March 18 on the status of TPP and other trade negotiations, USTR said in its weekly schedule (here). Deputy USTR Robert Holleyman will also speak to the National Lieutenant Governors Association in Washington on March 18. Froman will then travel to Brussels on March 20 for meetings presumably focused on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.

The recent U.S. Trade Representative Special 301 report on “notorious” IP markets (see 1503060033) claimed that domain “registrars are required … to take action by locking or suspending domains when they receive a notice about one of their domains facilitating illegal activity,” the Electronic Frontier Foundation said in a March 11 blog post (here). “This isn't true, and by claiming it is, USTR is here repeating the United States entertainment industry's current talking points,” notably those of the Motion Picture Association of America and Recording Industry Association of America, it said. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers has an agreement with registrars that they should act when “notified of illegal activity,” including piracy and counterfeiting, USTR said. “On the same day as the Notorious Markets list was published, the RIAA wrote a letter to ICANN claiming that it is not ‘appropriate’ for registrars to deny any obligation to respond to their members' complaints,” EFF said. MPAA, RIAA and USTR didn’t comment.

The U.S. will launch a Trans-Pacific Partnership chief negotiator meeting on March 9 in Waikoloa Beach, Hawaii, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in its weekly schedule. The meeting, which will last through March 15, will focus on all outstanding issues in the negotiations, said a USTR spokesman. Also on March 9, Deputy USTR Robert Holleyman will travel to Beijing for unspecified talks with Chinese officials. The same day, Acting Deputy USTR Wendy Cutler will speak to the American Chamber of Commerce in Seoul, while chief USTR agricultural negotiator Darci Vetter will give closed-door remarks to the American Farm Bureau in Washington. Meanwhile, assistant USTR for Japan, South Korea and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Bruce Hirsch will also speak on implementation of the U.S.-South Korea free trade pact on March 12 in Fullerton, Calif.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative unveiled its Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets in 2014 (here) on March 5. USTR Michael Froman lauded the report as another example of the Obama administration's increasing efforts to crack down on counterfeiting and piracy globally (here). The review includes a list of online marketplaces and physical markets across the globe that peddle counterfeit and pirated goods.

The United Steelworkers and the Specialty Steel Industry of North America called on U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman in recent days to oust Japan from Trans-Pacific Partnership talks unless that country immediately concedes more market access. U.S. negotiators continue to battle with Japan and Canada over tariff and non-tariff market access barriers in a final TPP deal. “The failure of the Japanese government to come forward with meaningful market access offers – despite their representations to the contrary – is unsurprising given our experiences in the Japanese market,” said USW President Leo Gerard and SSINA Chairman Carl Moulton in the March 2 letter. Gerard and Moulton also urged Froman to lock down currency rules in the agreement if the U.S. gives more time to Japan to propose more market access concessions. The USW joined other unions on the same day to reject Trade Promotion Authority (see 1503030024).

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will take another hiatus in it's trade negotiation and diplomacy agenda this week, with only two outreach events planned in the days ahead, USTR said in its weekly schedule. Chief USTR agriculture negotiator Darci Vetter will address a business and food security event in Washington on March 4. Then on March 6, she will address a National Pork Producers Council meeting in San Antonio.