U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Michael Punke are meeting in Stockholm to discuss the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with Swedish Minister of Trade Ann Linde and EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said (here). Froman and Punke will travel to France June 1-2 for a meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Ministerial Council.

The International Trade Commission on May 27 released the public version of its report to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on potential changes to the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program for 2015/2016, it said in a press release (here). The 253-page report (here), 207 pages longer than last year's, includes data related to potential additions of products for all GSP beneficiary countries under subheadings 2204.21.20 (effervescent wine), 3301.13.00 (essential oil of lemon), and 7202.11.50 (ferromanganese containing by weight more than 4 percent of carbon). For potential addition of products under least-developed beneficiary developing countries and African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) countries, the report includes data on the 29 subheadings for certain handbags and travel goods products under heading 4202. The report will inform USTR’s 2015/2016 GSP Review. The advice contained in the report is confidential.

The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced country-by-country allocations of additional fiscal 2016 in-quota quantities of the tariff-rate quotas for imported raw cane sugar, specialty sugar and sugar-containing products (here). These TRQs are effective May 27:

The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced country-by-country allocations of fiscal year (FY) 2017 in-quota quantity of the tariff-rate quotas for imported raw cane sugar, refined sugar, specialty sugar and sugar-containing products (here). The TRQs are effective Oct. 1, and imports will be allowed in five tranches. The following allocations are the same as fiscal 2016 (see 1507140016), and are based on historical shipment statistics:

The U.S. will waive discriminatory purchasing requirements for certain products and suppliers of Ukraine after the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) enters into force for the country on May 18, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a determination (here). The waiver will apply to goods covered by the GPA for procurement by the U.S.

Three officials from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative are visiting Peru this week to participate in meetings of the Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) group of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) organization, USTR said (here). U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman is visiting Lima, Pucallpa, and Arequipa, from May 15 to 17, and deputy U.S. trade representatives Michael Punke and Robert Holleyman are traveling to Arequipa from May 16 to 18, USTR said. Froman is also discussing “environmental enforcement efforts” with Peruvian officials.

U.S.-Albania trade rose 59 percent, to $190.8 million, from 2014 to 2015, and Albanian companies last year exported $2.9 million worth of goods under the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), an official from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in remarks May 11 during the WTO’s second review of the country’s trade policy and practices (here). The official noted that Albania has switched to a digital system for customs and border compliance, streamlining import processing and “substantially” reducing fees, and lauded the country for ratifying the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) on May 10 (see 1605100010).

The U.S. and Uruguay on May 11 convened the seventh meeting of the bilateral Trade and Investment Council in Montevideo under the U.S.-Uruguay Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, as Assistant U.S. Trade Representative John Melle met with Uruguayan Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Jose Luis Cancela Gomez, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a press release. Melle and Gomez discussed issues including trade facilitation, improving opportunities for small and medium enterprises, the digital economy, and market access, USTR said. The next meeting will be held in Washington next year.

The U.S. is claiming that China’s antidumping and countervailing duties on imports of U.S. broiler chickens violate World Trade Organization rules, and plans to file an associated challenge through the multilateral body, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said (here). “These duties, which act as high taxes on American poultry exports to China, have remained despite a WTO report that previously found China to be breaching its WTO obligations,” the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a statement. “Now, the United States is challenging these taxes on behalf of American poultry producers and the hundreds of thousands of people employed in the poultry industry.” This is the 12th WTO case the Obama administration has brought against China, said the statement.

Composed of officials from both countries, the U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement Joint Committee met on May 3 to review implementation of the deal, as well as efforts to ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (here). Pertaining to the bilateral deal, the two sides discussed functionality related to specific goods, services, and investment issues, and ways to promote expansion of trade and investment between the two countries, USTR said.