The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) decision to invite labor union members to fill Industry Trade Advisory Committee vacancies (see 14022125) represents progress and reform, said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka in a Feb. 24 statement. The USTR must continue to advance transparency in the trade negotiation process, however, said Trumka. “Our government must provide the American people the information they need in a timely manner so they have an opportunity to influence what is being negotiated in their name,” said Trumka. The decision may be the first time USTR has permitted labor unions to occupy ITAC seats, said an AFL-CIO spokesman. USTR did not immediately respond for comment.

U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman will stay in Singapore until the on-going Trans-Pacific Partnership ministerial concludes on Feb. 25, the Office of the USTR said in a weekly schedule release. Deputy USTR Miriam Sapiro on Feb. 25 will deliver remarks and participate in a public panel discussion on the U.S. trade role in the economic agenda at the National Association for Business Economics Economic Policy Conference in Arlington, Va. Froman on Feb. 26 will meet with Tyson Foods President Donnie Smith and host a call with members of the USTR Trade Advisory Committee System. The Feb. 26 meeting and call are closed to the press.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is asking for comments on and nominations for the newly-established Public Interest Trade Advisory Committee. The committee will provide USTR policy advice on public health, international development and consumer protection, while also advising USTR on how trade agreements promote U.S. interests. The comments should focus on the appropriate range of viewpoints that should be included in the committee to ensure the committee contributes valuable, balanced policy advice. The nominees must be U.S. citizens and not employed by the government, among other criteria. Comments are due by March 25. Nominations for initial committee posts are also due by March 25. Comments should be submitted via http://www.regulations.gov, Docket number USTR-2014-0005. Those interested in submitting nominations must submit application materials to USTR staff member Tiffany Enoch at tenoch@ustr.eop.gov.

Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) participant nations Japan and Canada may be unwilling to accept comprehensive market access liberalization in a final trade pact, warned more than 40 U.S. Business Coalition for TPP members in a Feb. 20 letter to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman. “Both countries seem intent on preserving the status quo for their most protected sectors,” said the letter. “Not only would the tariff barriers that Japan seeks to maintain be unprecedented, but they are in the very sectors that have the greatest potential for future trade growth between the United States and Japan.” Froman is due to attend the next TPP ministerial in Singapore from Feb. 22-25.

The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Feb. 18 announcement to form a new Public Interest Trade Advisory Committee (PITAC) to advise Obama administration officials on trade negotiations will ramp up transparency and accountability, said the Center for Policy Analysis on Trade and Health (CPATH) in a Feb. 20 statement. Trade negotiations currently underway, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, have largely relied on industry input instead of considering public interest issues, said the statement.

European Union officials remain open to comprehensive elimination of tariffs through the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, said U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman in a statement following two days of talks with EU Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht in Washington D.C. "We both see opportunities to make substantial progress in the coming months, as well as some challenges," said Froman. "But our resolve and the political will to reach an ambitious, comprehensive agreement remain strong. Our negotiators will continue their intensive work during the period leading up to the next round, scheduled for the week of March 10, 2014 in Brussels.” The next TTIP round of negotiations is scheduled for March 10-14.

Japanese trade negotiators must continue to make auto and agricultural market access concessions in order to remain a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) participant, said U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman on Feb. 18 at a Center for American Progress event. The Feb. 15 summit with Japanese Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy Akira Amari yielded progress, however, said Froman (see 14021803).

U.S. and European Union officials recently proffered initial Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) tariff rate exchanges, in a bid to open European markets for U.S. manufacturing and agricultural sectors, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said in Feb. 17 remarks prior to two days of meetings with European Union Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht in Washington D.C. “As President Obama emphasized last week, a transatlantic agreement will increase exports, support jobs, and promote growth on both sides of the Atlantic,” said Froman. The next formal TTIP negotiating round due to take place March 10-14 in Brussels, Froman said (see 14012901).

Japanese trade negotiators continue to fall short of meeting U.S. market access demands for the automotive sector in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) pact, said the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in a Feb. 15 press release that followed a summit between USTR chief Michael Froman and Japan’s Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy Akira Amari in Washington D.C. The U.S. is requesting concessions on Japanese automobiles and agriculture that would bring significant domestic political pressure to the Japanese government, said Japanese Ambassador to the U.S. Kenichiro Sasae in January (see 14013130). The next TPP ministerial will be held from Feb. 22-25.

U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Michael Froman will meet on Feb. 18 with European Union Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht in Washington D.C. to discuss on-going Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations, the Office of the USTR said in a weekly schedule release, following a meeting between the two officials on Feb. 17. Froman will also meet with U.S. Dairy Export Council and National Milk Producers Federation representatives on Feb. 18 in closed press talks and deliver a public speech at the Center for American Progress.