Ambassador Kirk and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson along with Trade and Environment Policy Advisory Committee (TEPAC) Chair Jerry Block, convened the second meeting of TEPAC since the beginning of the Obama Administration.
Jerry Block thanked the Administration for tackling tough trade and environmental issues facing the international community, specifically climate change and the need to promote environmentally beneficial goods and services. For USTR, Ambassador Kirk provided an overview of issues surrounding the Doha Round of negotiations in the World Trade Organization, pending bilateral free trade agreements, and USTR efforts on climate change. These include work to improve outreach and transparency, as well as the development of a strategy for greater engagement with all other agencies with parallel environmental issues and goals.
Administrator Jackson and Ambassador Kirk spent a little more than an hour with the group, answering questions and sharing goals for international trade and the environment.
