Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, urged the European Parliament to ensure that legislation continues to deem China a “non-market economy” for antidumping duty purposes, in a June 19 letter (here). In the correspondence to European Parliament International Trade Committee Chairman Bernd Lange and committee Rapporteur Salvatore Cicu, Brown also said any changes to EU law should put the burden of proof on exporting producers in non-market economies to justify the use of individual costs in AD cases. Requiring petitioning producers to justify non-market economy AD methodologies would weaken trade remedy laws, Brown said. “Perhaps most important,” Brown wrote, the EU and U.S. should make joint submissions in the non-market economy World Trade Organization cases brought by China, as a combined effort would ensure “no daylight between the EU and U.S. positions.”

CBP Acting Commissioner Kevin McAleenan met with Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, on June 20 to discuss how CBP can help keep illegal fentanyl and other synthetic opioids out of Ohio, Brown’s office said in a press release (here). Brown discussed his INTERDICT Act, which would provide more portable chemical screening devices at ports of entry and mail and express consignment facilities and additional fixed chemical screening devices available in CBP laboratories. The bill also would provide CBP with resources, personnel and facilities to interpret screening test results from the field. “Customs agents have a key role to play in our efforts to keep opioids out of the United States, and they need our support,” Brown said in a statement. “It’s important to ensure that law enforcement have every tool at their disposal to keep deadly drugs like fentanyl out of Ohio communities, safely and effectively."

Lawmakers recently introduced the following trade-related bills:

The House Ways and Means Committee on June 22 will convene a hearing on Trump administration trade policy, the committee said (here). U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is scheduled to be the sole witness testifying at the hearing. “There is no question that our trade agreements, including NAFTA, have been tremendously successful for American workers, farmers, and businesses by breaking down barriers and allowing American producers to sell their goods and services to customers around the world," committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, said in a statement. "But no matter how successful, our agreements can always be improved and strengthened. I look forward to learning more about the Administration’s plans for seamlessly modernizing and upgrading NAFTA, as well as opening up other markets through the negotiation of strong new agreements." Brady added that he also looks forward to discussing how the U.S. can more effectively enforce existing agreements, including World Trade Organization rules, "to ensure a level playing field." Lighthizer will testify before the Senate Finance Committee on administration trade policy on June 21 (see 1706140039).

A bipartisan group of 10 senators urged U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in a June 14 letter (here) to work to eliminate Canadian trade barriers against U.S. poultry and ensure poultry trade with Mexico “remains robust” through NAFTA renegotiations. Canada has continued to impose tariffs of 249 percent on U.S. poultry that exceeds a quota OK’d by a NAFTA dispute settlement panel shortly after NAFTA entered into force, the senators wrote. U.S. poultry exports to the nation have remained low because of this trade barrier. In 2016, the U.S. exported nearly five times as much poultry to Mexico as it did to Canada, the letter says.

The Senate on June 15 passed a bill that would expand Iran and Russia sanctions. The legislation now goes to the House for consideration. Specifically, S. 722, the Countering Iran’s Destabilizing Activities Act of 2017, would expand sanctions on Iran for ballistic missile development, support for terrorism, transfers of conventional weapons, and human rights violations, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said in a statement (here). The bill would also expand Russia sanctions responding to the violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and Crimea, Russia’s cyber-attacks and interference in elections, and its continuing aggression in Syria.

The Senate Judiciary Committee on June 15 cleared Vishal Amin, President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as White House intellectual property enforcement coordinator, for full Senate consideration. During his May 24 confirmation hearing before the committee, Amin said customs enforcement, prevention of overseas trade secrets theft, and foreign forced technology transfers or localization requirements would be among his focus areas if sworn in (see 1705240039).

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, this week pitched a five-year phase-in of his border adjustment plan as part of any tax reform, drawing another wave of opposition voiced by retailers and others. The transition would usher in taxation on imports at the same rate it lifts taxes on exports, Brady said at the Wall Street Journal CFO Network annual meeting on June 13 (here). He said the approach reflects business feedback his committee received on dollar rate adjustments and the length of time required for proper supply chain assessments, among other things. “For the first time since I’ve been in Congress in twenty-one years, we have whole industries telling us that under this tax reform approach, they can now bring significant parts of their supply chain back to the United States,” Brady said.

The Senate Finance Committee on June 21 will convene a hearing on Trump administration trade policy and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s fiscal year 2018 budget request, the committee announced (here). U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is scheduled to be the sole witness testifying at the hearing. “As the United States looks to sell more American products and services across the globe, our focus should be on opening new markets for our exporters and protecting intellectual property rights to help maintain the United States’ competitiveness abroad,” committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said. “This administration has been clear about its intent to pursue trade policies that, through close consultation with Congress, will build a stronger American economy and bring real benefits to American workers, families and job creators.”

CBP is looking at the feasibility of scanning all commercial trucks coming into the U.S. with non-intrusive inspection (NII) technology, said Office of Field Operations Deputy Executive Assistant Commissioner John Wagner at a House Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee hearing June 13 (here). Asked about the use of non-intrusive technology, Wagner said "we are looking at some things with commercial truck traffic and being able to run trucks through, 100 percent through, the scanning." The agency will "look at what the impact could be, and could we actually accomplish that in the right amount of time," he said. Wagner also emphasized CBP’s requested increase to fund its Office of Trade, which he said should fulfill the office’s need to hire more employees to help with analysis, rulemaking and “regulatory work.” The budget (here) requests $263.3 million for the Office of Trade in fiscal year 2018, a $51.5 million increase over the annualized fiscal year 2017 continuing resolution funding level.