The document discusses recent legislative actions regarding the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) in the U.S. Congress, outlining the voting process and the need for cooperation among lawmakers to pass these trade measures by the July 4th recess. It also updates on international trade negotiations, sanctions regarding Russia and Ukraine, the status of Iran nuclear talks, and addressing climate change, reflecting the interconnectedness of global diplomatic efforts. The U.S. is additionally engaging with Paraguay on intellectual property rights and considering the implications of avian flu on the poultry industry.

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TRADE TALK
15-19 June 2015
TPA Moves Separately, Senate Vote Sequencing Outlined. After the House Rules Committee approved a vote on
a standalone Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) bill – unlinking it from the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) bill that
failed in a vote last week – the House passed the measure on Thursday by a vote of 218 to 208. This action now
sends TPA as a standalone measure back to the Senate for a separate vote.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) quickly outlined the Senate vote sequencing for next week for TPA,
TAA and a trade preferences bill to reach President Barack Obama's desk before 4 July, saying it will take trust on
both sides to accomplish that goal. The Majority Leader confirmed the TAA vote would follow the TPA vote in the
Senate, affirming there would be enough votes to pass TAA. The two bills will each need 60 votes in order to pass.
Majority Leader McConnell filed two cloture motions on Thursday afternoon to limit debate on: (1) a trade preferences
bill, which will be the vehicle for advancing TAA, and (2) the TPA measure passed by the House. If cloture is invoked
on Tuesday, the final vote on TPA and the TAA-trade preferences measure would occur in the Senate on
Wednesday, 24 June. If the Senate passes the TAA-trade preferences measure – which includes reauthorization of
the Africa Growth & Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), as well as a Haiti
preference program – the measure would return to the House for a vote.
Customs Measure To Be Conferenced. While the current approach is to pass TPA uncoupled from TAA, Senate
Majority Leader McConnell and Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) have sought to reassure pro-TPA
Democrats that TAA will make it to President Obama's desk. This reassurance includes Majority Leader McConnell’s
promise to incorporate changes to U.S. anti-dumping and countervailing duty laws in the TAA-trade preferences
measure that have been sought by the U.S. steel industry. The Senate Majority Leader also said the House and
Senate will conference on their respective customs bill as soon as possible, but first both chambers must pass a
motion to enter into conference and appoint conferees. It remains unclear whether this will happen before Congress
recesses at the end of next week in observance of the Fourth of July holiday.
Ex-Im Bank Update. With the U.S. Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank’s charter due to expire at the end of the month and
given next week’s push to complete votes on a series of trade measures before recessing for the Fourth of July
holiday, Congress will likely not reauthorize the Bank in time. On 18 June, Senator Chris Coons (D-Delaware) said in
an interview that it would be difficult for him to take another vote on TPA without “some path forward” for Ex-Im
reauthorization, the customs bill and TAA. However, many expect lawmakers will seek to instead attach an Ex-Im
reauthorization provision to a highway spending bill that must be passed by the end of July.
TPP. Australian Trade Minister Andrew Robb reportedly said about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations:
“We are literally one week of negotiation away from completing this extraordinary deal and across 12 countries and
40 per cent of the world's GDP.” The dates of the next TPP ministerial meeting are contingent on the passage of
TPA. Many fear that if Congress is unable to complete TPA before it recesses in August, the momentum for
completing TPP will be overcome by the United States’ turn to the 2016 congressional and presidential elections.
TTIP. On Tuesday, the EU Parliament’s International Trade Committee (“INTA”) announced it would hold an
extraordinary meeting on 29 June in Brussels. INTA is to decide which of the 116 amendments introduced to

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Parliament's draft recommendations to Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiators would be
considered by the full EU Parliament.
Russia/Ukraine Sanctions Update. This week, envoys of Ukraine, Russia, the pro-Russia separatists and the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) gathered in Minsk, Belarus, to discuss implementation
of the Minsk agreements. The French Foreign Ministry reported a ministerial meeting between Russia, Ukraine,
France and Germany would be held in Paris on 23 June. Meanwhile, NATO Supreme Allied Commander General
Philip Breedlove acknowledged there is increased violence in eastern Ukraine along the line of contact.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who has been recovering for several weeks following a broken leg, participated in
Tuesday’s daily State Department press briefing, providing readout of his recent call with Russian Foreign Minister
Sergey Lavrov. Secretary Kerry said to Foreign Minister Lavrov, “that in the absence of a reduction in the hostilities,
and in the absence of further progress of the implementation, Europe and the United States are going to be united in
a rollover of the current level of sanctions, certainly, and whether or not more comes depends on what happens on
the ground.” On Wednesday, the EU Foreign Ministers agreed to extend the sanctions on Russia for an additional
six-months. In light of the recent aggression and increased violence in eastern Ukraine, the United States and EU
are also reported to be preparing additional sanctions to impose on Russia and the pro-Russia separatists.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said on Monday that the Administration remains concerned about the
reported flow of material and personnel from the Russian side of the border into Ukraine. The Press Secretary also
alleged the Russian military continues to provide weapons and assistance to separatists in Eastern Ukraine and that
Russian military personnel are actively involved in that effort. He added the Administration is considering placing
military hardware in Eastern European NATO member countries as part of a U.S. reassurance strategy. He added
that the option, if finalized, would be a message to the world, most directly to NATO allies, that the United States is
serious about living up to its Article V NATO commitments. However, some have cautioned that such actions could
lead Russia to build up its own military equipment along its border.
On Thursday, while in the Czech Republic, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Victoria Nuland
sought to downplay Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement that he would add more than 40 new
intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) to Russia’s nuclear arsenal this year. The Assistant Secretary noted that
Moscow is modernizing some existing missiles and said that it should stick to limits set in arms control agreements.
She reiterated that the United States will be watching Russia’s ICBM modernization. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of
State John Kerry has said no one wanted to see backsliding “to a kind of a Cold War status.”
Iran Sanctions Update. The deadline for concluding the P5+1 Talks with Iran and devising a comprehensive plan
for addressing Iran’s nuclear program is fast approaching. Foreign Ministers and the chief negotiators will be in
Vienna next week trying to clinch a deal with Iran. Any final deal with Iran faces intense scrutiny by a skeptical U.S.
Congress.
Upcoming Presidential Visit to Africa. The White House announced on Friday that in late July, after President
Obama stops in Kenya, he will then travel to Ethiopia. In Kenya, President Obama will hold bilateral meetings and
participate in the 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Summit, an annual conference that connects entrepreneurs with
business leaders, international organizations, and governments. The trip to Addis Abba will include bilateral

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meetings with the Government of Ethiopia and with the leadership of the African Union. While this will be the
President’s fourth trip to Africa, it is his first to both of these countries and the first visit of a sitting U.S. President to
the African Union headquarters, underscoring U.S. efforts to work with sub-Saharan Africa countries to accelerate
economic growth, strengthen democratic institutions, and improve security.
Climate Change. In a 184-page papal letter, Pope Francis wrote this week that climate change is a global problem
with far reaching environmental and social consequences, especially for the poor. He called on developing countries
to limit the use of nonrenewable energy and for developed nations to assist poorer nations with sustainable
development. In blunt language, the Pope said, “The earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an
immense pile of filth.”
President Obama welcomed His Holiness Pope Francis' encyclical, saying he deeply admired the Pope's decision to
make the case – clearly, powerfully, and with the full moral authority of his position – for action on global climate
change. The President said he looks forward to discussing climate change with Pope Francis when he visits the
White House in September and called on nations around the world to be prepared to address points raised by the
Pope at the U.N. Climate Change Conference later this year in Paris (30 November – 11 December).
Paraguay to address IPR issues. On Thursday, the United States and Paraguay signed a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) on intellectual property rights (IPR) during the U.S.-Paraguay Partnership Dialogue. As part of
the MOU, Paraguay has committed to take specific steps to improve its IPR protection and enforcement environment.
Additionally, the MOU creates a bilateral partnership in which the United States intends to support Paraguay’s efforts
to strengthen the legal protection and enforcement of IPR, including through the enhancement of creative and
innovative industries, to promote Paraguay’s strategic priorities of growth and development. As a result of the
commitments Paraguay has assumed under the MOU to strengthen and enforce IPR, the Office of the U.S. Trade
Representative has removed Paraguay from the 2015 Special 301 Watch List pursuant to an Out-of-Cycle Review.
Avian Flu and Poultry Export Concerns. Senator Chris Coons (D-Delaware) is arguing that now is a bad time for
Republicans to propose spending $500 million less on agriculture research, stressing that avian flu is significantly
impacting the U.S. poultry industry and could benefit from research of the disease. On Thursday, the House
Appropriations Committee’s Agriculture Subcommittee approved a $143.9 billion Fiscal Year 2016 spending bill that
includes $2.7 billion in spending for agriculture research, the same as was budgeted for FY 2015. Senator Coons
warned that avian flu, which has already killed more than 48 million commercial chickens and turkeys since
December, may spread to unaffected states such as Delaware, which is home to a $3.2 billion poultry industry. He
added that exports of U.S. chicken products have been significantly curtailed by the avian flu outbreak, noting that
more than 50 countries have stopped accepting U.S. poultry.
If you have questions regarding any of the above information, please contact Stacy Swanson at
Stacy.Swanson@SquirePB.com.