President’s Export Council Recommends Evaluation of Import Fee to Fund TAA, Etc.

(The President’s Export Council (PEC) was first established in 1973 to advise the President on matters relating to U.S. export trade and report to the President on its activities and on recommendations for expanding U.S. exports. The PEC was most recently renewed on September 29, 2009 for a two year period, and is comprised of private-sector, Congressional, and Administration members.)

PEC Considered Four Sets of Recommendations at September 16 Meeting

During the September 16, 2010 meeting, PEC considered and approved letters (sets) of recommendations on the following:

• Export Control
• Free Trade Agreements
• Travel and Tourism
• Veterans Retraining

Highlight of PEC’s recommendations to the President involving FTAs and export controls include:

Free Trade Agreements

• Submit pending FTAs to Congress. Prepare and submit as soon as possible the pending FTAs for Congressional consideration and passage. The PEC strongly supports the decision to move forward starting with the Korea FTA (KORUS FTA) and subsequently with Colombia and Panama.
• Reinforce TAA, reevaluate possible new fee on imports. Re-establish confidence in the trade adjustment assistance process and reevaluate whether to impose a small uniform fee on imports to fund adjustment programs, as authorized by the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988.
• Pursue new FTAs. Pursue modern FTAs with major trading partners so that foreign competitors are not able to exploit their bilateral and regional trade agreements to the disadvantage of U.S. exporters.
• Revitalize Doha. Revitalize the Doha Round negotiations. While the positions currently on the table provide a foundation for moving forward, they do not in their current form or substance support significant new opportunities for economic growth and job creation.
• Protect against unfair trade practices. Reinforce U.S. rights against unfair trade practices. It is important to ensure that domestic laws to protect U.S. companies and workers from unfair trade practices are enforced fairly and effectively.

Export Controls

• Consult with industry. The Administration should consult with the PEC Subcommittee on Export Administration and as appropriate, the full PEC, on its vision and implementation plans, including proposed regulatory and statutory changes. Industry should have an opportunity to comment on the Administration’s criteria and related policies to determine which items and technologies are controlled under the new three tier export control system.
• Assess DoD technology release process. The Department of Defense should continue to assess the Technology Release process to identify measures that could both streamline and strengthen the process, as it sets the “technology transfer bar” for specific regions and countries with which the U.S. works as part of its national security strategy.
• Assist small business. Provide resources to allow for more outreach and assistance to small businesses to comply with laws and regulations. The goal should be to simplify the current system to enable more robust compliance for all businesses.

(See PEC Web site for details on the recommendations for travel and tourism and veterans retraining.)

Additional Subcommittee Recommendations Expected

These four initial sets of recommendations (which are said to have an impact of approximately $250 billion) will be followed by additional sets of recommendations from other PEC subcommittees at future meetings.

(See ITT’s Online Archives or 09/17/10 news, 10091713, for previous BP summary on the September 16, 2010 PEC meeting.

See ITT’s Online Archives or 07/08/10 news, 10070811, for BP summary of the President’s appointment of 18 private sector members to the PEC.

See ITT’s Online Archives or 08/05/10 news, 10080509, for BP summary of the announcement that the PEC Subcommittee on Export Administration was recruiting private-sector members.)