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The United States has also continued to prioritize implementation of the FTAs currently in force. For example, the United States used a unique monitoring tool under our bilateral trade agreement with Peru in 2016 to verify that a particular timber shipment exported from Peru to the United States complied with all Peruvian laws and regulations. Following issuance of this verification report, which revealed significant levels of illegally harvested timber in that shipment, Peru agreed to undertake various reforms to address ongoing challenges of illegal logging. In 2017, the United States determined that Peru had made insufficient progress in implementing these agreed upon and necessary reforms, and on October 10, 2017, USTR took unprecedented action by instructing the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to deny entry of future timber shipments from the Peruvian exporter subject to the 2016 verification request. In February 2018, the United States requested that Peru conduct a second timber verification, this time of three separate timber shipments exported from Peru to the United States. Peru's investigation could not establish that one of the shipments was compliant with Peru's laws, regulations, and other measures on the harvest and trade of timber products. The United States will continue to engage with Peru to address remaining challenges to combating illegal logging highlighted by the verification.

Since the last TPR, the United States kept up substantial engagement with other FTA partners. In particular, the United States had senior-level meetings with officials from Bahrain, Central America and the Dominican Republic, Chile, Colombia, Oman, Panama, and Singapore to discuss implementation of and monitor progress under the environment chapters of our FTAs with those partners. These engagements were also opportunities to review, and in some cases, update, the environmental cooperation work programs that help to support implementation of the environment chapters of U.S. FTAs. The United States also engaged with Trade and Investment Framework Agreement partners, notably Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, and consulted on a wide range of issues related to trade and investment, including trade-related environmental issues such as wildlife trafficking and IUU fishing.

In APEC, the United States worked with other Asia-Pacific economies through the Experts Group on Illegal Logging and Associated Trade to improve the capacity of APEC customs officials to combat illegal logging and associated trade, including by hosting a customs officials workshop held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on August 18-19, 2017. The United States also led the development of a Customs Best Practices Resource Tool designed to assist APEC customs officials in identifying illegal timber shipments and taking appropriate action. As part of this work, the United States strengthened partnerships with international and nongovernmental organizations, such as Interpol and The Nature Conservancy, who play an important role in combating illegal logging and associated trade globally. The United States also concluded an initiative to facilitate trade and investment in sustainable materials management solutions under APEC's Regulatory Cooperation Advancement Mechanism in 2017.

The United States is also committed to combating wildlife trafficking and IUU fishing through a variety of means, including by using existing and future U.S. FTAs, environmental cooperation mechanisms, and other trade-related initiatives. For example, the United States has consistently raised these areas for discussion and collaboration in meetings under the Environment Chapters of our FTAs and included them in recent environmental programs. In October 2016, the Eliminate, Neutralize, and Disrupt (END) Wildlife Trafficking Act of 2016 became law, with the objectives of supporting anti-poaching efforts on a global scale, strengthening the capacity of partner countries to combat wildlife trafficking, and designating major wildlife trafficking countries for further strategic collaboration with the United States. [6] The President issued an Executive Order on February 9, 2017 that called for strengthened enforcement, including with respect to the "the illegal smuggling and trafficking of humans, drugs or other substances, wildlife, and weapons…." Multiple U.S. government agencies participate in implementing the President's Executive Order and the END Wildlife Trafficking Act.

[6] Eliminate, Neutralize, and Disrupt (END) Wildlife Trafficking Act of 2016 ... (signed into law on October 9, 2016).

In regards to IUU fishing, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) published a final rule in December 2016 establishing a Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) to combat IUU fishing and seafood fraud. [8] The SIMP establishes reporting and recordkeeping requirements for imports of 13 at-risk species needed to prevent IUU-caught or misrepresented seafood from entering U.S. commerce. The U.S. importer of record is required to report and retain key data from the point of harvest to the point of entry into U.S. commerce. The rule's requirements took effect for 11 of the species on January 1, 2018: tunas (Albacore, Bigeye, Skipjack, Yellowfin, and Bluefin), swordfish, sharks, Atlantic and Pacific cod, grouper, red snapper, and sea cucumber. The requirements for the remaining two species, shrimp and abalone, will take effect on December 31, 2018. U.S. government agencies are actively engaged in outreach to trading partners to assist with implementation efforts.

[8] Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act: Seafood Import Monitoring Program, 81 FR 88975 (December 9, 2016).

(...) Traditionally, federal assistance programmes have been in the form of grants, tax concessions, loan guarantees, and direct payments; they are listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA), and are mostly related to public health and safety, the environment, education, infrastructure, community assistance, and research and development.

(...) On the demand side, U.S. primary energy consumption has levelled off, as the economy has become ever more energy efficient. Natural gas has replaced coal as the principal resource in electricity generation, but coal-fired power plants still deliver 30% of the electricity produced. About 17% of the electricity generated in the United States in 2017 was made from renewable energy resources. The United States does not have a national target for renewable energy or an explicit federal support mechanism. However, 29 states and the District of Columbia have adopted "renewable portfolio standards" or similar binding targets, and a further 8 states (and one territory) have set non-binding targets. States apply numerous measures to promote the development and use of renewable energy resources

Construction is not regulated at the federal level, but safety issues are. Safety regulations concerning the construction industry are enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration at the federal level, or by equivalent state agencies. All states require contractors to have workers' compensation insurance. There are also a number of environment-related laws, including those related to asbestos, lead, and industrial waste. (...)

The overall trade objectives state the goals of U.S. trade negotiations, including: (…) to ensure trade and environmental policies are mutually supportive; (…) to seek provisions in trade agreements ensuring that they do not weaken or reduce the protections afforded in domestic environmental and labour laws; (...)

Under the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, Congress established an interagency trade policy mechanism to advise the USTR on trade policy. The mechanism has three tiers: the Trade Policy Committee (Cabinet level), the sub-cabinet-level Trade Policy Review Group (TPRG), and the staff-level Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC). USTR consults with other government agencies on trade policy matters through the TPRG and the TPSC, both composed of 20 federal agencies and offices. Both the TPSC and TPRG are chaired by the USTR, and they consist of staff- and sub-cabinet-level officials, respectively, of (...) the Environmental Protection Agency; (...) the Council on Environmental Quality; (...)