Concerning international negotiations to create a nine-nation free trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific region, top U.S. trade official Ron Kirk has said the U.S. has been as open as possible but has to maintain some secrecy in the talks.

“I believe … that we have very faithfully operated within the spirit of the Obama administration to have the most engaged and transparent process as we possibly could,” U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said in an interview from Dallas, where the United States is hosting the 12th round of negotiations this week on the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) pact.

“But there’s a practical reason, for our ability both to preserve negotiating strength and to encourage our partners to be willing to put issues on the table they may not otherwise, that we have to preserve some measure of discretion and confidentiality,” Kirk said.

Critics like Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch have called for a more open process because they are concerned the pact could restrict Internet freedoms in order to fight digital piracy, reduce access to life-savings medicines by extending drug patent protections and encourage U.S. companies to move more jobs overseas through the agreement’s investment protection provisions.

They have pressed for countries to release a draft text of the TPP to allow more public input.

On Friday, Kirk said in an interview with Reuters, that is was still too early in the negotiations to do that. But “there will be a time, once we have agreed on text, that we may – as we have with other agreements – be able to release that,” he said.

“There’s always that tension between when you release and not,” Kirk said, noting that about a decade ago negotiators released the draft text of the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas and were subsequently unable to reach a final agreement.

The United States, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei hope to wrap up negotiations on the wide-ranging TPP trade agreement by the end of the year.

The countries are aiming for a “21st-Century agreement” that will go further than previous pacts in tearing down barriers to trade and raising international standards in areas like workers right, environmental protection and intellectual property rights rules.

They also want an agreement that will be open for other countries, including potentially even China, to join.

Source: Reuters news

Japan’s imports of DDGS in 2011 surged 31 percent ahead of 2010 levels, and U.S. market share, already dominant, climbed from 89 to 93.7 percent.

Japan’s DDGS imports thus far in 2012 are on track to exceed last year’s record, with U.S. market share edging up yet again, to 96 percent through the first quarter.

Japan has long been the top international customer for U.S. corn, and the continued growth in interest in DDGS is encouraging. Fully 58 percent of DDGS are fed to layers, with other sectors sharing the remainder. The removal of oil by U.S. distillers and the sale of new, low-fat DDGS has attracted the attention of Japanese buyers, and the USGC office in Japan has been in close contact with customers to answer any questions.

Source: U.S. Grains Council

An answer regarding the U.S. Country of Origin Labeling as it applies to imported livestock, specifically Canadian hogs and beef cattle, is expected from the World Trade Organization this summer. The hearing on the U.S. appeal is complete. An Alberta pork producer believes the Government of Canada team effectively argued that the law is a protectionist measure. Manitoba Pork Council Team Manager Andrew Dickson says it was also effectively argued that COOL labeling requirements have seriously harmed and continue to harm Canadian exports of cattle and hogs to the U.S. The Appellate Body must now consider the record evidence and arguments – with its conclusion expected toward the end of June.