The U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman will travel to Vietnam Dec. 1 and Malaysia Dec. 2 for Trans-Pacific Partnership meetings, the office of the USTR said in a press release. Froman will then attend the World Trade Organization 9th ministerial summit in Bali Dec. 3-6, said the USTR.

The U.S. and Bangladesh signed on Nov. 25 an economic pact that provides an avenue to discuss actions needed to restore Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) status for Bangladesh, said a U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) spokeswoman. The Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (TICFA) builds off a Bangladesh GSP Action published by the administration in July, said the spokesman, which seeks to increase Bangladeshi government inspection of manufacturing facilities and improve freedom of association (here).

Certain Indonesian tin and Thai copper alloys, along with a host of other products currently eligible for duty free status in the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), are in jeopardy of being removed from the GSP system, due to excessive proportionate import, said the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). Should GSP eligible products from a specific country exceed 50 percent of total U.S. imports of that product, the product must be removed from GSP status, unless the president waives the competitive need limitations (CNLs).

Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade officials concluded negotiations in Salt Lake City Nov. 24, making “significant progress” in areas such as intellectual property protection, market access, state-owned enterprises, sanitary and phytosanitary issues, government procurement, technical barriers to trade and rules of origin, said the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). The talks began Nov. 19 (see 13110110). The talks paved the way for additional progress at the upcoming TPP ministerial summit in Singapore, said USTR. U.S. trade officials, including USTR chief Michael Froman, continue to eye the end of 2013 for conclusion of TPP negotiations (see 13111516). Despite recent speculation on Dec. 7-10 as the dates for the ministerial summit, the USTR did not respond for comment.

The Information Technology Agreement (ITA) expansion plans collapsed in Geneva on Nov. 21, an Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) official and key U.S. negotiator said in a Nov. 21 blogpost (here). U.S. negotiators previously targeted the addition of a host of products and product lines to the agreement among 70 nations (here), but the Chinese refusal to concede coverage areas forced negotiations into suspension, said the ITI official.

The office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is requesting written public comment on the Intellectual Property (IP) protections, enforcement and market access in El Salvador. The comments will influence the USTR decision on whether to place El Salvador on the Trade Act of 1974 Section 182 sanctioned “Priority Watch List,” which indicates IP violations exist in a particular country. Those interested should submit comments by 10 a.m. Dec. 13 via http://www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2013-0038 and include the term “2013 Special 301 Out-of- Cycle Review of El Salvador” in the “Type Comment” field. Those interested in obtaining further information should contact USTR official Michael Diehl at (202) 395-6126.

The office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) extended the deadline for submission of petitions to waive competitive need limitations (CNLs) under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program. The deadline is extended to 5 p.m. Dec. 20 from the previous Nov. 22 deadline (see 13072614). Unless President Barack Obama waives the CNL, the president must terminate duty-free treatment for GSP eligible countries that either (1) exported a quantity of a GSP-eligible article having a value in excess of the applicable amount for that year ($160 million for 2013), or (2) a quantity of a GSP-eligible article having a value equal to or greater than 50 percent of the value of total U.S. imports of the article from all countries. There will be no CNL action taken while GSP remains expired (see 13111808).

U.S. negotiators are eyeing an environmental chapter in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) that will facilitate trade but build on existing conservation efforts in the region, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said on Nov. 19 in a press release. The release followed remarks delivered by USTR Ambassador Michael Froman at a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) event. “Over the past decades, the United States has been a pioneer in leveraging comprehensive trade agreements to promote and enhance environmental protection on the ground in our partner countries,” said Froman, according to the release. The WWF did not respond for comment.

The office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is inviting applications to fill positions on North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) binational panels, created to review antidumping and countervailing duty determinations. NAFTA parties must establish the panel in accordance with Annex 1901.2 of the agreement (here). USTR is seeking applicants to serve from April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015.

The U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA) ramped up bilateral goods trade to nearly $16 billion in 2012 through improved “transparency and efficiency,” notably in customs procedure, said U.S. Mission to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Attaché Quentin Baird in prepared remarks at the WTO Trade Policy Review of Peru. The review was conducted on Nov. 13 and Nov. 15. The PTPA took effect in January 2009. Peruvian liberalization efforts, coupled with advantageous commodity prices, contributed to poverty reduction from 42 percent in 2007 to 28 percent in 2011, said Baird.