South & Central Asia

Washington, D.C. – United States Trade Representative Michael Froman announced today that a World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement panel issued a mixed result, rejecting numerous claims brought by India in a challenge against U.S. trade remedy laws and determinations issued by the Department of Commerce regarding imports of certain steel products from India.

Washington, D.C. – An interagency review led by the Office of the U.S.

Washington, D.C. – Today, senior U.S. Government officials and officials from the Governments of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan met for the 9th United States-Central Asia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) Council Meeting.  The United States-Central Asia TIFA is the key vehicle for trade and investment discussions between the United States and the countries of Central Asia.

Dhaka, Bangladesh – On April 28, senior representatives of the governments of the United States and Bangladesh held the inaugural meeting of the United States-Bangladesh Forum on Trade and Investment (Forum), established pursuant to the Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (TICFA) to identify obstacles to increasing bilateral trade and investment and how best to overcome these obstacles.  Both governments reaffirmed their commitment to increase bilateral trade and investment as well as to address worker rights and worker safety issues in Bangladesh

The text of the following statement was released by the Department of State, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Department of Labor.

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Washington, D.C. – U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman gave remarks and presided over the signing of the United States – Bangladesh Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (TICFA). The agreement was signed by Bangladesh Secretary of Commerce Mahbub Ahmed and Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Wendy Cutler. The TICFA provides a mechanism for both governments to discuss trade and investment issues and areas of cooperation.

United States – Central Asia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA)

Meeting of the TIFA Council
November 14, 2013

 Joint Statement

07/25/2013

07/19/2013

The following is a joint statement from the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the Department of Labor, and the State Department:

Today, the United States is outlining next steps in a longstanding effort to address in a meaningful way worker safety problems in Bangladesh – the severity of which were exemplified in the tragedies of the November 2012 Tazreen Fashions factory fire and the April 2013 Rana Plaza building collapse – and, more broadly, the ability of Bangladeshi workers to exercise their full range of labor rights.

Washington, D.C. – United States Trade Representative Michael Froman issued the following statement on President Obama’s decision, set out in a proclamation released today, to suspend the eligibility of Bangladesh for tariff benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program: