The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative hit back at growing opposition to its handling of Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations on Jan. 9 by releasing a fact sheet on its outreach to lawmakers and the public (here). The Obama administration is, in fact, taking “unprecedented steps to increase transparency and diversify the voices involved in America’s trade policy,” says the fact sheet. On Jan. 8, House Democrats rallied lawmakers, unions, consumer groups and other advocates to vow opposition to Trade Promotion Authority in the biggest public show in recent times of opposition to the U.S. trade agenda (see 1501090022). A week ago Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., also called on USTR to give his office more access to TPP negotiating texts (see 1501050019). But the Office of the USTR touted its efforts to incorporate more labor and environment representatives in the trade debate. USTR in early 2013 launched the first Public Interest Trade Advisory Committee (see 14022018). The agency is also keeping Congress closely informed on its trade negotiations through providing texts to lawmakers who wish to come to USTR and view them and giving more than 1,600 congressional briefings, said the fact sheet. Many trade critics, including those House Democrats and Sanders, say there are far too many limitations on access to the texts for those viewing opportunities to be worthwhile.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative kicks off a busy week on Jan. 12 as USTR Michael Froman leaves the U.S. to discuss Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations in Lima with Peruvian Minister of Trade and Tourism Magali Silva, the Office of USTR said in a weekly schedule update (here). The next day acting deputy USTR Wendy Cutler will meet with Japanese negotiators, Hiroshi Oe and Takeo Mori, to discuss bilateral market access and auto trade in TPP. Some industry representatives say the two sides are nearing conclusion on bilateral talks (see 1501040001). Deputy Assistant USTR for Small Business Christina Sevilla will then speak to small and medium-sized businesses opportunities in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. To wrap up the week, Froman will travel to Mexico City on Jan. 18-19 to speak with Mexican Minister of the Economy Ildefonso Guajardo.

Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Congressional Affairs Hun Quach will leave that post in the near future, two lobbyists told International Trade Today. Quach informed the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees this week about her plans to step down, said one of the lobbyists. The Office of USTR and both committees didn’t respond for comment.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative scheduled a number of events for Jan. 6 and Jan. 10 in Washington, all of which are closed to the press, said USTR in an email. USTR Michael Froman will participate in the U.S.-Mexico High Level Economic Dialogue with Vice President Joe Biden. Froman will then meet with Mexican Secretary of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal, and later in the day, will speak with members of the National Governors Association. Then on Jan. 10, Deputy USTR Robert Holleyman will meet with trade staff at the National Association of Manufacturers.

Russian scaled back its efforts to meet World Trade Organization requirements in its second year as a member, following a promising 2013, said the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in an annual report (here). President Barack Obama signed into law in December 2012 a measure to give Russia permanent normal trade relations after it acceded to the WTO, but throughout 2014 Russia abused and violated a set of trade rules, said USTR in the report. The PNTR legislation requires USTR to submit an annual report on Russian trade compliance.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is asking for comments to put together its annual Special 301 review. The review identifies the level of intellectual property rights protection globally, broken down by country and degree of protection. IPR violators are placed on the Special 301 Watch List and Priority Watch List. USTR also can label a country a Priority Foreign Country, the most severe classification of an IPR violator. The agency chose to not give India that label in the 2014 Special 301 review, despite pressure from the pharmaceutical industry (see 1410140100). The following are important deadlines for the review, as outlined by USTR:

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative published a notice on sugar, syrup goods and sugar-containing product trade surpluses for Chile, Morocco, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru, Colombia, and Panama (here).

U.S. and South Korean trade delegations will meet often in early 2015 to iron out the outstanding issues in U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS), the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said on Dec. 14 (here). USTR chief Michael Froman met with South Korean Trade Minister Yoon Sang-jick on that day to monitor progress in implementation. The talks focused on auto issues and financial services, said USTR. The agency previously complained about insufficient progress on reforming KORUS customs provisions for U.S. auto exports, saying the South Koreans continue to require excessive, trade-inhibiting documentation (see 14031425).

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is asking for comments on admitting Uruguay into the World Trade Organization Trade in Services Agreement, a pact that seeks to liberalize investment conditions for the services sector (here). The U.S. is currently negotiating TiSA with Australia, Canada, Chile, Taiwan, Colombia, Costa Rica, the European Union, Hong Kong, China, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Korea, Lichtenstein, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Switzerland, and Turkey. USTR notified Congress in November of it's intent to bring Uruguay into the negotiations. USTR is asking for comments specifically about barriers to trade in services and the services supply to Uruguay. The agency prefers comments are submitted through www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2014-0001. Comments are due by Jan. 20 at 12:00 p.m.

The Office of U.S. Trade Representative is asking for industry comments on bringing Israel and Turkey into negotiations on the World Trade Organization Environmental Goods Agreement (here). The U.S. is currently negotiating the terms of the tariff elimination agreement, including the specific goods subject to the deal, with Australia, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Switzerland, the European Union and Taiwan (see 14091812). The deal is expected to be based off an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation pact that is slashing duties on 54 "green" products (here). Both Israel and Turkey notified the EGA negotiating partners in recent months of their intent to enter the talks. Comments on the Israeli and Turkish entries are due by Jan. 12, 2015. USTR prefers comments are submitted through www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR–2014–0024.