TPP Trade Ministers Press Briefing/Statement (Update from 19th Round of TPP Negotiations in Brunei)
On August 23, 2013, the TPP Ministerial meeting concluded with a press briefing. Stakeholders were not allowed to attend, but according to media sources, the briefing lasted only 20 minutes and reportedly the ministers only took a handful of questions before ending the briefing. Apparently, Ambassador Froman confirmed that the October 2013 deadline was not possible, but that countries were now looking for “milestones” by October with the hope of concluding the agreement by the end of the year.
On Saturday, August 3, 2013, USTR head Ambassador Michael B. G. Froman wrote to the Chairman of the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), to “disapprove the USITC’s determination to issue an exclusion order and cease and desist order” for Apple Inc. “smart phones and tablet computers that infringe a U.S. patent owned by Samsung Electronics,” in the ITC Investigation No. 337-TA-794.