Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Chris Coons, D-Del, laid out parameters of a trade package they hope to get passed in the next three weeks in Congress.

The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill that would impose the contract that eight rail unions approved but four rejected, a contract that protects health insurance benefits and increases pay 24% across four years, with more than half of those pay increases applied retroactively, since the last contract expired in mid-2020.

Congress needs to act to help prevent a looming major rail strike that could disrupt freight movement and back up supply chains, more than 400 trade associations said in a Nov. 28 letter to congressional leadership. The letter, signed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, the Agriculture Transportation Coalition and others, said the “uncertainty” surrounding a potential rail disruption “has created enormous anxiety” in the industry.

Of all the outstanding trade policy options -- new trade promotion authority, requiring Section 301 exclusions, revisions to antidumping law and a customs modernization law -- the head of government relations at Flexport said he thinks customs modernization is the most likely to pass. "I think we are coming on the cusp of something," Darien Flowers said, and said he thinks a bill will be enacted before 2025. Flowers once worked for Sen. Bill Cassidy, the Louisiana Republican who is leading the bill, though more recently he served on the minority staff of the Senate Commerce Committee.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's John Murphy said that manufacturers are some of the biggest supporters of free trade deals because half their goods are exported.

Although President Joe Biden criticized the Trump administration tariffs on Chinese imports during his campaign, and although his treasury secretary repeatedly said they contribute to inflation and some of them are harmful, trade lobbyists for UPS and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said the tariffs are largely here to stay.

Artificial intelligence export controls should only be imposed multilaterally and should contain no ambiguity in order to minimize harm on U.S. competitiveness, trade groups told the Commerce Department this week. They said the controls also should clearly distinguish between “general purpose” and “application specific” AI software so the restrictions only cover items that pose genuine national security concerns.

If Republicans retake control of the House after the midterm elections in November, the chamber’s Foreign Affairs Committee will initiate a review of the Bureau of Industry and Security and its export control procedures, said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas. McCaul said the review would examine BIS’ progress in restricting emerging and foundational technologies under the Export Control Reform Act and study whether U.S. export control authority should be moved to a different agency.

African Growth and Opportunity Act benefits for Kenya need to continue as any trade partnership is formed, commenters said, especially the third-country fabric rule of origin.

The Treasury Department warned Turkish businesses this week that they may be hit with U.S. sanctions if they do business with designated Russian people or entities, The Wall Street Journal reported Aug. 22. In letters to the American Chamber of Commerce in Turkey and the Turkey Industry and Business Association, Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo warned Turkish companies that they will be cut off from American banks if they do business with sanctioned Russian banks.