Grassley Says Senate Republicans Fine With GSP Moving Under Unanimous Consent
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said a renewal of the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program could happen either by packaging the bill with an omnibus spending bill, or, if Congress just passes another temporary spending bill, by attachment to a tax extenders bill.
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Grassley, who was speaking with reporters on a conference call Nov. 3, said the GSP also could pass through unanimous consent, and that all Republicans have already agreed to that. Unanimous consent is how the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act was renewed at the end of September. He suggested that Democrats are reluctant to allow unanimous consent for GSP, but, when asked to elaborate, said: “I haven't had enough conversations with [ranking member Sen. Ron] Wyden to know ... exactly what's standing in the way.” He added that “if it’s a little thing, maybe we can accommodate them.”
A spokesman for Wyden, D-Ore., said that Democrats would discuss GSP during the lame duck session. He did not directly respond to a question about whether Wyden had asked the Democratic caucus if everyone agreed to unanimous consent. The spokesman also noted any such bill would have to start in the House, since it is a revenue bill.
Grassley also said he wants the administration to get Canada to move on dairy access and Mexico on approving biotech products. He also said he's concerned that Mexico is not living up to its USMCA promises on steel, and he asked the U.S. trade representative to press Mexican counterparts on that issue. “I’m satisfied that through talks or through forceful action, whatever’s necessary, USTR's going to take necessary action if they don't get it settled otherwise,” he said.