BAF IN THE NEWS:
Gotta Be Mobile: Stuck in Traffic? Let your Elected Officials Know with I’m Stuck!
Everyone hates being stuck in traffic. Whether it is a traffic jam caused by an accident or road construction, or a lousy train that stopped in the middle of a crossing, we do not like to wait. Building America’s Future has created an app called I’m Stuck, and that promises an easy to way report traffic issues directly to elected officials.
Shopfloor: I’m Stuck
http://www.shopfloor.org/2013/08/im-stuck/29505#sthash.FiPe5vWs.dpuf
The state of U.S. infrastructure is pretty dismal. But you don’t need an expert to tell you that. You are already paying the cost of congestion in lost time and fuel every single day when your roads and bridges are clogged, or your train is late, or even if your plane has been idling on the tarmac for far too long. What if you could let your member of Congress know when you’re stuck?
NATIONAL NEWS:
New York Times: Changing Attitudes on Labor Color Bay Area Transit Dispute
OAKLAND, Calif. — With the threat of a railroad shutdown looming, Alice Jorgensen was at the Bay Area Rapid Transit’s MacArthur Station here on a recent morning, waiting for the service she uses 8 to 10 times a week to run errands and go to the library. A strike, she said, would be “a real inconvenience.”
New York Times: A Clean-Car Boom
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/11/opinion/sunday/a-clean-car-boom.html?hpw
In a welcome development for the planet, the cars on American streets are becoming much more climate-friendly much sooner than many had expected. Consumers are increasingly buying fuel-efficient hybrid and electric vehicles thanks to breakthrough innovations and supportive government policies.
New York Times: A Veto of an Import Ban
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/12/opinion/a-veto-of-an-import-ban.html?ref=opinion
The Obama administration did the right thing earlier this month when it vetoed the decision by a little-known federal agency to ban the import of certain older-model Apple iPhones and iPads that it determined had violated patents owned by Samsung Electronics.
AP: Inventor Musk to share plans for high-speed travel
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Twice as fast as an airplane, cheaper than a bullet train and completely self-powered: that's the mysterious transportation system that inventor and entrepreneur Elon Musk is promising to reveal design plans for Monday.
Washington Post: Obama’s State of the Union promises to small businesses, six months later
During his State of the Union on February 12, President Obama stood before the country and outlined dozens of ways he planned to finally right the economic ship this year, many of which were praised by a still ailing small business community.
Washington Post: In his second term, Obama becomes bolder on the environment
President Obama’s environmental policies are likely to play a prominent role in defining his second term, even as the budget, immigration and health care still dominate the current political debate.
Washington Post: Car-sharing picks up speed in D.C.
For months, Abigail Smith thought about selling her Ford Fusion hybrid. Especially when she had to pay the loan and insurance for a car she rarely drives.
Transportation Nation: WATCH: Werner Herzog Takes on Texting While Driving
The latest subject for Werner Herzog -- the filmmaker behind such grueling works as Fitzcarraldo and Grizzly Man -- is the danger posed by texting while driving.
NPR: 'Books On Bikes' Helps Seattle Librarians Pedal To The Masses
http://www.npr.org/2013/08/11/210248982/books-on-bikes-helps-seattle-librarians-pedal-to-the-masses
By the loading dock of Seattle's downtown library, librarian Jared Mills checks his tire pressure, secures his iPads and locks down about 100 books to an aluminum trailer the size of a steamer trunk. The scene is reminiscent of something you'd see in an action movie, when the hero is gearing up for a big fight, but Mills is gearing up for something very different.
Oil and Gas Journal: Watching Government: Oil-by-rail safety inquiries
Railroads and their regulators on both sides of the Canadian-US border continued to address oil-by-rail transportation safety issues nearly a month after an incident with 72 crude-bearing tank cars near Lac-Megantic in Quebec on July 6.
Washington Post: AP: Rail operator Norfolk Southern outlines plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern is outlining key initiatives for the railroad operator to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and its environmental footprint.
National Journal: My Week in Oil Boom Country
http://www.nationaljournal.com/columns/power-play/my-week-in-oil-boom-country-20130811
A Statoil site with four producing wells sits among houses in Williston, N.D. (Amy Harder)
WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA—I had zero cell phone service when I landed in Bismarck. I know this state is mostly rural, but how was I supposed to know Sprint doesn't operate here? Two hours, $183, and one new cheap smart phone later (thanks, Radio Shack!), I was on the road for an almost four-hour drive to Williston, the heart of America's oil boom.
STATE NEWS:
Transportation Nation: Transpo Policy Survey: Where NYC Mayoral Candidates Stand
Bike lanes and express buses are hot with the candidates hoping to lead New York City. The advocacy group Transportation Alternatives surveyed seven of the 12 mayoral candidates on transit, biking, walking, and traffic safety policies. Here's what they said.
KQED: BART Strike Delayed; Court Grants Gov. Brown's Request for 60-Day Cooling Off
http://blogs.kqed.org/newsfix/2013/08/11/BART-strike-averted-cooling-off
San Francisco Superior Court Judge Curtis Karnow issued the official court order for the 60-day cooling off period around 10:30 a.m. on Sunday.
Fox6Now.com: Gov. Walker approves $7.6 million in freight rail loan awards
http://fox6now.com/2013/08/09/gov-walker-approves-7-6-million-in-freight-rail-loan-awards/
MADISON (WITI) – Governor Scott Walker announced Friday, August 9th four state awards totaling $7,605,081 to improve rail infrastructure and support economic growth.
Streetsblog: Chicago Already Has a “Traffic Disaster” – Transit and Bikes Are the Solution
John McCarron, a freelance writer, adjunct lecturer at DePaul University, and contributing columnist for the Tribune, suffers from Jeckyll-and-Hyde syndrome when it comes to writing about transportation.
NBC Chicago: More High Speed Trains for Illinois
Last week, I had lunch with the executive director of the Midwest High Speed Rail Association, which has its headquarters in Chicago. The association’s dream is to link the entire region with trains that travel 220 miles an hour. Such a network would strengthen Chicago’s position as capital of the Midwest, by drawing cities that now require an overnight trip into commuting range: Urbana-Champaign would be 45 minutes away, St. Louis 90 minutes, Detroit two hours. High-speed trains could make the entire Midwest a suburb of Chicago.
Star-Ledger: Rail group appeals Dinky land transfer by NJ Transit to Princeton University
PRINCETON — In its campaign to preserve the nation’s shortest commuter rail line, the New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers is asking a state court to block plans by NJ Transit to turn over land occupied by the "Dinky" line to Princeton University.
Web Wire: Press Release: Union Pacific Railroad Invests $10.5 Million to Strengthen Iowa’s and Missouri’s Transportation Infrastructure
http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=178478#.UgjhttLVDjs
Omaha, Neb. – Union Pacific Railroad will strengthen Iowa’s and Missouri’s transportation infrastructure by investing $10.5 million in the rail line between Allerton, Iowa, and Lock Springs, Mo. The project, funded entirely by Union Pacific without taxpayer dollars, began in late July and is scheduled to be completed by the end of October.
Politico: Morning Transportation
By Kathryn A. Wolfe | 8/12/13 5:34 AM EDT
Featuring Scott Wong and James Hohmann
A $20 MILLION HEADS-UP: There’s a key hearing on the American Airlines-US Airways merger on Thursday, where a bankruptcy judge will consider the controversial $20 million proposed severance payout for American’s CEO Tom Horton. U.S. Trustee Tracy Hope Davis has adamantly opposed the payout, but others are backing it, including the unsecured creditors committee. Dealing with Horton’s golden parachute is one of the few remaining hurdles to American emerging from bankruptcy.
SAFETY RISING: A one-two punch of the deadly Asiana Airlines crash followed by a Southwest Airlines jet’s nosegear collapsing on landing may have jangled nerves, but it also highlighted the fact that the country is still operating in what’s widely accepted as the safest period in aviation history — made possible in large part by the government’s response to previous disasters, including the 2009 Colgan Air crash that killed 50. Read much more from Scott and me: http://politico.pro/17IrJ8Z
VIRGINIA’S FOR FIGHTERS: Terry McAuliffe, the Democratic candidate for governor, squared off with Republican Ken Cuccinelli at a forum in Manassas on Friday. The two candidates took potshots at each other about road projects, including a controversial parkway in Northern Virginia. James Hohmann has the skinny on the fireworks for Pros: http://politico.pro/13MyYiI
WAKE UP, IT’S MONDAY. But at least you’re reading POLITICO's Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on trains, planes and automobiles. I'm your conductor for the next few days, so send all your tips, news, chatter about "Orange is the New Black" and anything else to kwolfe@politico.com; follow me on Twitter @kathrynwolfe and at @POLITICOPro. Adam’s bringing facial hair back on Wednesday.
“Everybody’s stepping on their accelerator …” http://bit.ly/19muXGb
SIMMER DOWN: On Sunday a San Francisco Superior Court judge ordered a 60-day cooling off period between the Bay Area Rapid Transit Agency and its two largest unions, which have been teetering on the edge of a strike for the past few weeks. This means the soonest the unions can strike will be midnight on Oct. 10; negotiations will continue in the meantime. AP: http://bit.ly/13RAyQr
FED REG WATCH: Today, the FAA will issue an airworthiness directive affecting about 6,000 general aviation planes that use some engines made by Continental Engines, Inc. The FAA is issuing the directive (http://1.usa.gov/1eDada9) because of serious issues with the engines’ cylinder heads, including cracking, leaking and separation that could cause “loss of the airplane.” FAA wants operators to inspect the engines and will require repetitive inspections for cylinder issues from here on out; the AD is estimated to cost about $82 million.
… ALSO: FMCSA is out today with its response to comments collected on 2012 guidance for hours of service requirements for oil patch drivers. Here’s the upshot: “Following a review of all comments, the Agency has determined that no further elaboration on the regulatory guidance is needed, at this time.” Read it all here: http://1.usa.gov/15Uoqxv
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LAC-MEGANTIC MEETING SET: The FRA’s safety advisory committee has set a date for its meeting on the July 6 freight train derailment in Lac-Megantic, Canada. The meeting starts at 9 a.m. on Aug. 29. Read the notice: http://1.usa.gov/14CfPmi
SENATE THUD SCAN — Music to McCaskill’s ears: Senate appropriators want the FAA’s advisory committee to finish up its report on using gadgets on airplanes under 10,000 feet post-haste, saying “this issue needs to be resolved” and urging the FAA to act on the panel’s recommendations “expeditiously.” The bill doesn’t create any mandates to back Sen. Claire McCaskill’s crusade to lift the usage restrictions, but it’s always good to have appropriators in your corner.
Drone Roadblock?: The Senate bill’s report raises privacy concerns with the FAA’s ongoing attempt to craft a rule allowing drones to be integrated into the national airspace, then drops a bomb: It requires that before the FAA can issue a final rule, it has to report to Congress on how it’s evaluated the “impact that broader use of UAS in the national airspace could have on individual privacy.” It remains to be seen how the agency would handle a directive such as this, but if enacted it would almost certainly add time to the rulemaking process.
I-5 Collapse: It’s no secret that Sen. Patty Murray is intensely interested in the ongoing investigation into the I-5 bridge collapse in her home state. So it’s not surprising that the Senate’s THUD bill would order up a GAO study of how state DOTs treat oversized loads, including how they’re permitted and regulated. It also would direct FHWA to “reevaluate” state and federal requirements for bridge height signage and how those regs are enforced. Bridge height signage and, especially, oversized load regulations, are obvious points of interest as the NTSB continues its investigation into the collapse.
GUT CHECK: All of these tidbits have yet to be conferenced much less enacted, and since Republicans blocked the Senate’s bill from being called up to the floor just before breaking for the recess, the path forward for these items is unclear.
TIME TO REFI: The Bureau of Transportation Statistics is out with its exhaustive Transportation Statistics Annual Report for 2012, which has enough stats to create a Trivial Pursuit Transpo edition. Questions could include: how much are the country’s infrastructure assets worth ($7 trillion), and how much has passenger VMT has declined since 2005 (down 3.7 percentage points) versus motorcycle VMT (up 77 percentage points). Let’s not forget some ageism, such as how long in the tooth your average commercial airplane is (13.3 years), versus your average lock (50.1 years). But don’t take my word for it: http://1.usa.gov/15jDKQG
INKED: President Obama has signed the “Helping Heroes Fly Act,” requiring the TSA to create an expedited screening process for injured or disabled veterans.
THE AUTOBAHN (SPEED READ)
- Asiana Airlines offering a $10K “initial compensation” to SFO crash victims. Washington Times: http://bit.ly/18nYaf9
- Elon Musk is expected to reveal some Hyperloop plans today. HuffPo: http://huff.to/1cY54eA
- Anthony Foxx’s old employer, DesignLine, has begun layoffs. AP: http://bit.ly/1cY7xWo
- U.S. Trade Rep. Michael Froman heads to Japan, hoping to bust down auto export barriers. Eric Bradner for Pros: http://politico.pro/17CGfPK
- Former Sen. Scott Brown’s brother was arrested for impersonating a Coast Guardsman (he also had a TSA badge on him). WaPo: http://wapo.st/198gTfO
- The first Toyota sudden unintended acceleration case to go to trial focuses on lack of a brake override. Bloomberg: http://bloom.bg/1ckeu6u
- Why a BART-style strike won’t happen for WMATA. WaPo: http://wapo.st/16FgLnM
- Researchers in Minnesota have turned up a curious trend: people use toll lanes with congestion pricing more as prices rose, thinking the higher price correlated with more congestion. http://bit.ly/14dfL5o
- Warner Herzog’s new short film, part of AT&T’s campaign against distracted driving. Watch: http://bit.ly/15UXlua
THE DAY AHEAD: 9:30 a.m. — Anthony Foxx speaks at the National Conference of State Legislatures’ State Transportation Leaders Summit. Atlanta
THE COUNTDOWN: DOT funding and passenger rail policy both run out in 50 days. Surface transportation policy is up in 415 days and FAA policy in 780 days. The mid-term elections are in 459 days.
CABOOSE — Truck stops in New Jersey might conjure up a set of mental pictures better left unsaid, but I’m pretty sure they’re nothing like images posted to Wired’s Raw File. Photographer Michael Massaia has made a photographic study of big rigs parked overnight at Jersey truck stops. His set, shot in black and white, is absolutely luminous and worth eyeballing. It’s better than you'd think: http://bit.ly/16AdnIW
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By Scott Wong and Kathryn A. Wolfe | 8/12/13 5:20 AM EDT
The U.S. went more than four years without a fatal airline crash until last month — and one of many reasons may be the government’s response to the nation’s last previous deadly aviation disaster.
Fifty people died in the 2009 crash of a Colgan Air regional turboprop plane outside Buffalo, N.Y., inspiring efforts by Congress and the FAA to enact long-sought improvements in pilots’ safety standards, training requirements and a far-reaching rule meant to combat fatigue.
The results, spurred along by an active lobbying campaign by the victims’ loved ones, have helped make commercial air travel arguably safer than they were before Colgan — even in the midst of the safest period in the country’s aviation history.
“This has been a long process but I believe we’re a lot safer today,” Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who helped spearhead the reform efforts, told POLITICO. “And the greatest weakness in airline safety — which is pilot training, pilot fatigue, pilot qualifications — is much stronger today than it’s ever been.”
That’s demonstrably true, but getting there hasn’t been easy. Though the Colgan crash was the impetus for pushing the pilot fatigue rule over the finish line, the FAA and regulators had been trying to strengthen such regulations for decades without success, mostly because of pushback from the airline industry and its allies.
The FAA phased in the fatigue rule over the past two years, and announced last month that it’s implementing another piece of the law Congress passed after Colgan: a rule requiring 1,500 hours of flight time for co-pilots to be certified to fly passenger and cargo planes, up from just 250 hours. The agency announced that step just days after the deadly July 6 crash-landing of an Asiana Airlines jet in San Francisco.
The law’s final major provision will take effect this fall when the FAA announces stricter training requirements for an array of items, including steps like helping pilots recover from engine stalls and recognize stall warnings. Those warnings — including one called a “stick shaker” — were triggered on both the Colgan and Asiana flights.
Former Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.), who as chairman of the House Transportation Committee helped draft the bill responding to the Colgan crash, said he had been working on some of the same issues for nearly three decades.
Oberstar said Congress and the FAA had made some improvements after a string of accidents involving pilot error. Those included a 1985 Galaxy Airlines charter crash in which a crew of three experienced aviators were so preoccupied with troubleshooting a strange noise that they neglected to fly the plane and crashed, and a flight that went down just miles from Oberstar’s home in which a domineering captain was paired with an inexperienced first officer.
Then came the Colgan crash, Oberstar said. He said he decided to seize on the momentum to try to push through “sweeping change” that would help blunt the “graveyard mentality of aviation safety” — in which regulators would react after a crash instead of taking proactive steps.
The bill’s path to enactment was circuitous. At first, lawmakers attached the aviation safety provisions to an FAA reauthorization that stalled repeatedly over unrelated problems. Finally, Oberstar and others dropped the Colgan provisions into a separate bill that ended up being enacted.
Lawmakers credited the hard work of a grassroots group formed by the friends and families of the Colgan crash victims for helping get the bill to the finish line — and for ensuring that its provisions are implemented.
“They went to work. They knocked on doors, they had a news conference, they buttonholed members in the hallways,” Oberstar said. “I think that’s one of the finest examples of citizen advocacy for a purpose and a cause.”
“They were an amazing tour de force,” added Schumer.
Some of the changes advocates sought remain outstanding, though at least one piece appears on track to be finalized this fall. Schumer, the No. 3 Senate Democrat, said he’s received personal assurances from FAA Administrator Michael Huerta that final pilot rules will soon be in place.
“He has given me an unequivocal commitment that it will be finished by Oct. 1 and perhaps a little bit ahead of it,” Schumer said.
Though it generated intense media coverage, July’s fatal Asiana crash occurred against the backdrop of the safest period in U.S. commercial aviation history. Between the February 2009 Colgan crash and the Asiana accident, nearly 50 million commercial flights took off and landed in the U.S. without a fatality, said Mark Rosenker, who chaired the National Safety Transportation Board from 2005-2009.
“There is no doubt in my mind that we are in a much safer era of commercial aviation than we have ever been,” said Rosenker, who attributed the safety record to a combination of better training, aircraft, technology, maintenance and FAA oversight.
The NTSB is still investigating Asiana Flight 214 as well as a non-fatal accident last month involving a Southwest Airlines jet whose nosegear collapsed on landing at LaGuardia Airport in New York. But early clues released by the NTSB suggest that pilot error is partially if not mostly to blame in both cases.
In the Asiana accident, for example, the pilots failed to notice until too late that the Boeing 777 was flying much too low and too slowly as its approached the runway. Three Chinese teenage girls died after the plane’s tail struck a seawall, including one girl who was run over by a rescue vehicle in the confusion.
The Asiana crash, however, is unlikely to foment the same kind of wholesale overhaul as Colgan.
First, most of the passengers on the Seoul-to-San Francisco Asiana flight were either Chinese or South Korean nationals, a group unlikely to have much influence over U.S. policy. Second, the FAA cannot mandate many changes to foreign airlines’ operations, which are mainly governed by an international agreement — although Oberstar noted that U.S. airlines have some potential leverage through their business arrangements with overseas carriers. (Asiana is a member of the Star Alliance, whose main U.S. partner is United Airlines.)
Of course, there’s always the possibility that new facts in the Asiana and Southwest cases could prompt Congress to respond, Schumer said. “But this [Colgan] legislation is strong, it is thorough, and it’s complete,” he said. “And so enforcement of it is the most important thing we can do to maintain safety.”
Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier, whose congressional district includes the San Francisco airport, tried to enact one Asiana-inspired reform by proposing a study on whether commercial planes should have to install low-airspeed warning systems. Speier attached an amendment requiring the study to the 2014 House transportation funding bill, but her proposal was left in limbo after Republican leaders yanked the bill from the floor late last month.
“I fear that without direction from Congress, the FAA could take years to complete this study,” Speier said on the House floor. She is waiting to see if the bill is taken up again when Congress returns in September, an aide said.
Oberstar cautioned not to get too far ahead of the NTSB on speculating about the cause of the Asiana crash. But he said regulators and the industry must guard against complacency and actively look for ways to improve the system — as they did after Colgan.
”Aviation is safe only until the next accident,” he said.
Politico Pro: Governor candidates spar over Virginia road plans
By James Hohmann | 8/9/13 4:34 PM EDT
MANASSAS, Va.—Terry McAuliffe, the Democratic candidate for governor, took heat Friday for refusing to take a position on whether to go forward with a controversial parkway in Northern Virginia.
The crowd at a forum sponsored by local Chambers of Commerce cheered Republican Ken Cuccinelli for vocally advocating a new road that would connect Interstate 66 in Prince William County with Route 50 in Loudoun.
The moderator, WUSA9 anchor Derek McGinty, asked why voters don’t deserve to know McAuliffe’s position before November’s off-year election.
“No offense, that’s cute to say, but I do not make decisions nor will I make decisions until I have all the facts in front of me,” he said.
McAuliffe noted that environmental impact studies are still being done and local concern remains about paving over ground near Manassas National Battlefield Park. Then he outlined general principles for approving new road projects: Will it ease congestion? Does it spark development? Is the local community supporting it?
“I just want you to make a decision,” the moderator responded.
“Don’t worry about that, I will,” the Democrat responded.
As the back-and-forth wound down, McAuliffe tried to turn the tables on the moderator, asking, “Derek, where do you live? Do you live in Virginia?”
“I do not,” the local TV personality responded. “I’ll move there when I know about the bi-county parkway.”
Cuccinelli, who spoke later, said that a current proposal to close down Route 234 and reduce traffic on Route 29 in order to build a new roadway is unacceptable.
“I will work very hard to get an alignment that will be as comfortable as possible for the locals,” he said.
The tea party favorite noted that he is a huge history buff, but does not want battlefield preservation to take precedence over easing congestion.
“I’ve walked that battlefield more than any other battlefield in America,” Cuccinelli said. “I appreciate the resource we have there, but we cannot be closing down major arteries as part of the tradeoff to expand transportation access in Northern Virginia.”
McAuliffe attacked Cuccinelli for opposing the bipartisan transportation package passed by the state legislature earlier this year with the support of Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell and most of the business community.
“It wasn’t a perfect compromise, but no compromise is,” said McAuliffe. “He went against his own governor on it for ideological, tea party reasons.”
Cuccinelli said he opposed the deal, but he will work to implement it if elected. He said he wants the governor to have as little power as possible in deciding how to spend transportation dollars, and that politics should be removed from the process as much as possible.
As a former state legislature from Prince William County — the site of the debate — Cuccinelli had home field advantage of sorts. He advocated for more roads in addition to the one currently being debated, including an eastern bypass from Fredericksburg past Baltimore and more western alternatives to Route 95.
He noted the trouble that the Union Army had getting across the Rappahannock River during the Civil War. It was a key geographic barrier that slowed the northern advance and played a key role in multiple battles — until Ulysses S. Grant circumvented the defensive line at the river in 1864.
“Getting across the Rappahannock is still one of the most challenging aspects of transportation,” he said, “and that’s without anybody shooting at you!”
Politico Pro: USTR to Japan to attack auto trade barriers
By Eric Bradner | 8/9/13 1:50 PM EDT
Michael Froman has been the U.S. trade representative for a little more than a month, but he’s getting ready to board a plane to take on what seems like mission impossible: He’s headed to Japan as part of an effort to make it easier for U.S. automobile manufacturers to sell their vehicles there.
“Everyone believes there’s a long way to go before we can really say the Japanese auto market is open,” Froman told a group of about 10 reporters during a 45-minute roundtable discussion Friday at his headquarters.
His trip comes as the Obama administration hustles to make a major trade deal with Japan and 10 other Pacific Rim countries happen by the end of this year. Japan joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks less than a month ago is a welcome development but one that also brings with it a number of major obstacles.
Lawmakers representing automotive industry states are demanding concessions from Japan, and they have leverage: The Obama administration needs Congress to approve “fast-track” authority guaranteeing that TPP would get a vote without amendments, and it also needs the deal to ultimately win approval. The administration has a short window of opportunity before campaigning revs up for the 2014 election, making it a near-impossible environment to get such a massive trade deal done.
Froman said Friday that he understands the skepticism that the U.S. can get Japan to open an auto industry that exports more than $40 billion in vehicles here and imports a fraction of that. Imports account for just 6 percent of auto sales in Japan.
He said he has met with members of Michigan’s delegation, the “Big Three” auto companies — GM, Ford and Chrysler — as well as the United Auto Workers union.
“We all bear the scars of trying to open Japan’s market in the past, and Japan’s market remains closed in a number of very significant ways,” said Froman, who leaves for Tokyo on Aug. 19.
Froman’s comments came hours after Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Wendy Cutler wrapped up three days of bilateral talks with Japanese trade officials aimed at creating momentum between the two countries headed into this month’s TPP negotiating round — the 19th overall. After Japan, Froman will head to Brunei from Aug. 20-22 for those talks.
Through the TPP, the U.S. is also pushing Japan to open its insurance market, which is currently dominated by a state-owned company. Another top priority is beef, Froman said. Other key lingering issues involve negotiating a textile dispute with Vietnam.
But Froman said there is now “a good amount of momentum” to work through several contentious issues that remain and close the TPP deal by the end of 2013, and that the upcoming negotiating round — which will coincide with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting also taking place there — could be a major step.
The timeline is “ambitious but doable,” he said.
Froman is also set for a two-day swing through Ethiopia, where he will discuss extending the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which expires in 2015.
BAF IN THE NEWS:
Gotta Be Mobile: Stuck in Traffic? Let your Elected Officials Know with I’m Stuck!
Everyone hates being stuck in traffic. Whether it is a traffic jam caused by an accident or road construction, or a lousy train that stopped in the middle of a crossing, we do not like to wait. Building America’s Future has created an app called I’m Stuck, and that promises an easy to way report traffic issues directly to elected officials.