WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States, in the first report on Russia’s compliance with its World Trade Organization commitments, said on Wednesday it was closely watching Moscow for any violations that thwart U.S. exports to the world’s sixth-largest economy.

But in the report required by Congress, the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office did not announce any definite plans for litigation at the Geneva-based world trade body.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A bipartisan group of more than 170 U.S. lawmakers joined with a coalition of U.S. business groups on Tuesday to demand increased U.S. pressure on India to change policies that they said threaten American exports, jobs and innovation.

“Over the last year, Indian policymakers and courts have taken a series of actions designed to block imports by forcing local production of a wide range of manufactured goods,” the lawmakers from the House of Representatives said in a letter to President Barack Obama.

WASHINGTON, June 18 (Reuters) – A bipartisan group of more
than 170 U.S. lawmakers joined with a coalition of U.S. business
groups on Tuesday to demand increased U.S. pressure on India to
change policies that they said threaten American exports, jobs
and innovation.

“Over the last year, Indian policymakers and courts have
taken a series of actions designed to block imports by forcing
local production of a wide range of manufactured goods,” the
lawmakers from the House of Representatives said in a letter to
President Barack Obama.

WASHINGTON, June 18 (Reuters) – A coalition of U.S. business
groups on Tuesday demanded President Barack Obama’s
administration increase pressure on India to change trade
policies that they said threaten U.S. exports, jobs and
innovation.

The move comes as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is
headed to India next week for the fourth annual U.S.-India
Strategic Dialogue.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. trade official on Friday acknowledged it will be hard to reach President Barack Obama’s goal of doubling exports by the end of 2014, but said it was too early to give up.

“I still think we have a shot at it, but nobody is suggesting this is going to be easy,” Commerce Under Secretary Francisco Sanchez told reporters.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama could soon decide to cut off trade benefits for Bangladesh, in a largely symbolic response to tragedies in the country’s garment sector that have cost more than 1,200 lives in the past eight months.

The U.S. Trade Representative’s office, with input from other government agencies, is completing its recommendations in preparation for a White House announcement by June 30.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The European Union does not want to use negotiations with the United States on a free trade agreement to weaken recent U.S. financial regulatory reforms, an EU official said on Thursday, responding to concerns raised by U.S. politicians.

But the EU is interested in exploring how financial regulations across the Atlantic can be made more compatible to allow new business opportunities, Peter Kerstens, a counselor at the European Commission’s office in Washington, said at a discussion on the proposed U.S.-EU trade pact.

WASHINGTON, June 12 (Reuters) – A top U.S. trade official on
Wednesday acknowledged that revelations of U.S. government
surveillance of phone and internet records could complicate
trade negotiations aimed at reducing barriers to cross-border
electronic data flows.

“There’s no question that for a long time one of the most
difficult issues that we’re grappling with … is the whole
domain of issues encompassed in privacy,” said Michael Punke,
U.S. ambassador to the World Trade Organization.

WASHINGTON, June 11 (Reuters) – The largest U.S. titanium
producer on Tuesday asked that the light-weight metal used in
military aircraft and other defense equipment be excluded from
free trade talks with Japan, arguing a healthy domestic industry
was vital for national security.

“Titanium is a strategically important metal,” Harry Seiner,
a vice president at Titanium Metals Corp (TIMET), told the U.S.
International Trade Commission. It was holding a hearing on the
economic impact of Japan joining talks with the United States
and ten other countries on a proposed regional free trade
agreement known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) pact.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday approved the nomination of White House chief international economic affairs adviser Mike Froman to be U.S. trade representative, setting the stage for full Senate approval.

Froman is President Barack Obama’s third cabinet nominee to receive committee approval this week. The Senate Commerce Committee on Monday approved the nominations of Charlotte, North Carolina, Mayor Anthony Foxx to be transportation secretary and billionaire Chicago businesswoman Penny Pritzker to be commerce secretary.