House Ways and Means should request that the International Trade Commission investigate factors affecting the competitiveness of the U.S. aluminum industry, especially focusing on China’s increased capacity and production of aluminum over the last decade, the Congressional Aluminum Caucus said in a letter (here) to the committee’s chairman and ranking member. “U.S. aluminum producers are facing debilitating competitive conditions and the root causes need to be further understood,” the letter states. “Capacity and production increases in China, which has gone from producing 10 percent of global supply to more than 50 percent during the past 10 years, have contributed to the problematic situation for the U.S. industry.” Only Ways and Means and the Senate Finance Committee can request an ITC investigation. The Congressional Aluminum Caucus made up of Reps. Suzan Delbene, D-Wash., Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa, and Larry Bucshon, R-Ill.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control has not proposed any sanctions on European businesses that did business with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), because despite past evidence of dealings, those companies have “moved away” from those activities, Acting OFAC Director John Smith told lawmakers during a Feb. 11 full House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing. “I have not seen evidence of European actors continuing to deal with the IRGC,” Smith said. Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., pressed Smith for nearly two minutes about the amount of IRGC-related sanctions, and expressed skepticism about OFAC’s efforts to find entities that do business with sanctions designees. “The Treasury Department has announced that IRGC is a huge economic monolith,” he said. “You’ve only designated seven [entities], and there are a lot more firms, [but you] can’t find a single East Asian, South Asian or European business that’s doing business with them,” Sherman said as his time expired. In written testimony (here) for the hearing, Smith said secondary (non-nuclear-related) sanctions continue to be leveled against foreign entities who transact with the IRGC.

The House of Representatives on Feb. 12 passed H.R. 757, the North Korea Sanctions Act of 2016 (here), by a margin of 408-2, sending the comprehensive sanctions bill to be signed by President Barack Obama. The Senate had passed the bill unanimously on Feb. 10. The legislation would require Obama to regularly brief Congress on implementation efforts and to sanction and block the assets of the Foreign Trade Bank of North Korea and the Daedong Credit Bank. Sanction designations will include individuals who have engaged in trading or attempting to trade any significant arms or luxury goods with Pyongyang, as well as money launderers, counterfeiters, cash smugglers, narcotics traffickers, or other “illicit activity” that “involves or supports the government of North Korea or any other senior government official.” Furthermore, the bill would punish Chinese companies that import or export graphite, aluminum, steel, coal or software to North Korea. The Senate voted 96-0 to pass the legislation.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Feb. 11 filed cloture on the nomination of Robert Califf to be commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, after Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, lifted her hold on the nominee, she said. Murkowski said she received assurances from FDA that it is “taking this matter seriously,” she said in a statement (here). Murkowski said she would block his nomination in November after the FDA’s approval of genetically engineered salmon, or “Frankenfish,” for human consumption (see 1602010018).

Lawmakers recently introduced the following trade-related bills:

Lawmakers recently introduced the following trade-related bills:

The Senate should move forward to pass long-delayed customs reauthorization legislation that would "support the ability of small Internet-enabled retailers to successfully export across the globe," eBay said on Feb. 8 (here). The bill, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (HR-644), would make some much needed changes to outdated customs laws, the company said. "For example, this legislation will boost the threshold under which buyers and sellers submit paperwork and pay duties on low-value shipments to the US from $200 to $800, while also encouraging trading partner nations to do the same. In addition, the bill would allow U.S. sellers to accept retail returns, which is a key offering that appeals to overseas customers and increases buyer satisfaction. Currently, U.S. small businesses must pay duty when accepting a returned item from an international customer." Senate consideration of the bill is expected as early as Feb. 10 (see 1602050015).

Open-source information, bills of lading, documentation of intermediate container movements, and manifest records of U.S. imports and exports should be used by the federal government to hunt entities that engage in trade-based money laundering, former CBP special agent Louis Bock told congressional lawmakers on Feb. 3. The congressional Task Force to Investigate Terrorism Financing hosted the hearing to examine potential solutions for trade-based money laundering, a common tactic used by groups like ISIS and Hezbollah to disguise how they make their money.

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, praised the Food and Drug Administration’s temporary ban on imports of genetically engineered (GE) salmon, but is continuing her hold on the confirmation of Dr. Robert Califf to serve as FDA commissioner, Murkowski's office said. Murkowski is one of three senators that are holding up confirmation.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Jan. 28 cleared the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enforcement Act of 2016, which mandates the President to investigate sanctionable conduct, the committee said. (here). Sponsored by Sens. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., and Bob Menendez, D-N.J., the bill would also require the State Department to expand the scope and frequency of travel warnings for North Korea, and require the Treasury Secretary to determine whether North Korea is a money laundering concern. If an affirmative determination is made, assets must then be blocked and “special measures” applied against designated persons. “Complementing legislation in the House, this bipartisan bill will tighten the web of sanctions as part of an overall policy to denuclearize North Korea and promote human rights within the country,” said Committee Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn. The bill now goes to the full Senate for further consideration.