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On April 9, 2019, the United States and Peru reached a resolution regarding concerns about Peru's forest sector obligations under the 2007 United States–Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA). At issue was Peru's relocation of the Agency for the Supervision of Forest Resources and Wildlife (OSINFOR) to a “subordinate position” in its Ministry of Environment in December 2018. The United States requested consultations under the PTPA on the ground that this relocation conflicted with a provision in the Environment Chapter's “Annex on Forest Sector Governance” (Forest Annex), which states that “OSINFOR shall be an independent and separate agency.” Following the consultations, Peru agreed to restore OSINFOR to its original location within the Peruvian government.

An analysis of the key differences between the apparel sections of the United States, Mexico, and Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was conducted to determine the amount of progress made in the USMCA deal with regard to apparel exports. However, in evaluating the differences between the trade deals, it became clear that while the U.S. may have won the battle on content; the fight over commerce in North America could reflect the way the deal was negotiated and how that made the United States two closest trading partners feel.

We are focusing on regional trade and economics because it's important to look at the consequences of the current US administration's antipathy toward multilateral trade agreements. Beijing has shown no such hesitancy, with President Xi Jinping hosting visitors from more than 100 different countries (including 37 heads of state) at his Second Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) International Forum. Ships from 19 different navies (but not the US or France) participated in a naval flotilla commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Peoples' Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). One area where Washington might actually embrace a multilateral agreement would be a follow-on to the soon-to-be defunct Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty but only if it involves, among others, China.

On January 4, 2019, the United States requested consultations with Peru with respect to its forest governance obligations under the 2007 United States – Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA). The PTPA has an environmental chapter with robust terms that were included largely at the insistence of members of Congress, reflecting concerns that a free trade agreement with Peru could increase the country's export of illegally logged wood to the United States. The request for consultations focused on Peru's decision to relocate its Agency for the Supervision of Forest Resources and Wildlife (OSINFOR) to within Peru's Ministry of Environment—a change that, in the view of the United States, “appears to conflict” with a PTPA obligation that “‘OSINFOR shall be an independent and separate agency.’”

Consistent with his approach on the campaign trail, President Trump has demonstrated a continued interest in revamping U.S. trade agreements. By the late spring of 2018, the Trump administration had negotiated modest changes to the United States-Republic of Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) in favor of U.S. interests. It had yet to reach any final agreement with regard to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), despite the expiration of an initial deadline that was designed to ensure adequate time for a vote on the negotiated agreement by the present Congress. To ease the passage of future trade deals, Trump has triggered the three-year extension of a process that provides expedited congressional consideration of negotiated trade agreements.