Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., tied what he hopes is a pending Senate vote on the conference version of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (HR-644) to congressional approval of the Obama administration’s Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. “I hope we get that voted on in this work period,” said Thune, third-ranking Republican in leadership and chairman of the Commerce Committee, of the customs trade bill when speaking to reporters Jan. 28. “Right now I think it’s just a function of making sure the votes are there on both sides.” He said “both sides are kind of working it” in recent weeks. This work period concludes with the Presidents Day recess, the week of Feb. 16. The customs conference report includes the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act language, a priority for Thune, who said earlier in January that he expected ITFA backers to override any point of order raised in an attempt to strip the ITFA provision from the trade bill and that he expected a vote soon on the measure (see 1601130011). Some in the Senate would prefer to see the ITFA language advance with the Marketplace Fairness Act rather than alone with the customs trade bill. “On ITFA, the Democrats here are trying to hold that up over MFA, but I think, you know, those are two very separate issues,” Thune said. "I’ve had conversations with Democrats in the Senate, obviously had some conversations with the White House too about getting them more engaged, but I think the message is we need customs in order to get TPP moving.” If there will be “any kind of vote on TPP,” the customs bill must move because without its enforcement pieces in place, “the pro-trade Democrats won’t vote for it," Thune predicted.

Lawmakers voiced their reactions on Jan. 26 to the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s announcement the same day that implemented the rollback of sanctions on Cuba, as the Obama Administration continues its push to normalize relations with Havana. Presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., accused the Administration of working to empower Cuban government-run businesses rather than the Cuban citizenry. “The Obama Administration's one-sided concessions to Cuba further empower the regime and enable it with an economic windfall,” Rubio said in a statement (here). “These regulations are more proof that the Obama Administration's intent has never been to empower the Cuban people but rather to empower the Cuban government's monopolies and state-run enterprises.”

Lawmakers recently introduced the following trade-related bills:

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is claiming that the General Services Administration is listing flatware and other products made by foreign companies as “Made in America,” and in a letter (here) to GSA Administrator Denise Turner Roth called for the agency to review the listings and delete spuriously identified companies. “It has come to my attention…that the GSA Advantage website lists several…flatware manufacturers’ products as ‘Made in America’ even though they are not; in fact, some of those manufacturers do not even label the products as ‘Made in America’ on their own company websites,” Schumer wrote. Improperly labeled products could hurt businesses that actually manufacture in the U.S., Schumer asserted. GSA Advantage can be found (here).

The House Ways and Means Committee postponed its first scheduled hearing of the year from Jan. 26 (here) to the first week of February because of a blizzard expected to strike Washington, a spokeswoman for committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas said. The hearing will cover potential pro-growth strategies for the U.S., and will likely touch on international trade, she said.

TechFreedom joined a coalition of more than 40 U.S. organizations in sending a letter (here) Jan. 21 urging Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Ill., support a permanent prohibition on Internet access taxes. Despite its omission from the House and Senate versions of customs reauthorization legislation, the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA), which bars states from levying taxes on Internet access and e-commerce, was inserted in the final conference report of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (TFTA). “Our organizations have a variety of missions and represent Americans from all walks of life and on all sides of the political spectrum, and it’s very rare that we agree on policy or work together in a unified manner,” the letter states. “But this issue is different. We support ITFA because it’s a permanent ban on taxing access to the Internet is critical to all Americans and the future of our overall economy.

Lawmakers recently introduced the following trade-related bills:

The ongoing debate over whether to keep a permanent extension of the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) in the conference Trade Facilitation and Enforcement Act (H.R.644) and a proposal to attach the controversial Marketplace Fairness Act to HR-644 is “the big hold-up” delaying Senate consideration of H.R. 644, said U.S. Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President-Government Affairs Bruce Josten after a news conference Jan. 14 on the industry group's business priorities for 2016. Supporters of keeping the permanent ITFA extension in H.R. 644, customs reauthorization legislation, are seeking support for overriding an expected point of order from Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., that would challenge the provision as being outside H.R. 644's intended scope (see 1601140004). Although it would be “pretty easy” for everyone to support a permanent extension of ITFA, Durbin's quest to pair MFA with the ITFA extension has “complicated” the process, Josten told reporters. MFA passed the Senate last Congress but it's “never been considered” in the House, even via the House Judiciary Committee, Josten said. MFA “needs to be socialized” in the House and “dealt with through regular order, and it hasn't been,” he said.

House Republicans on Jan. 11 questioned the head of the Small Business Administration’s Office of International Trade (OIT) over whether the unit is necessary, saying the division duplicates functions of other agencies amid a constrained budgetary environment (here). OIT Associate Administrator Eileen Sanchez said during a hearing of the Small Business Subcommittee on Agriculture, Energy and Trade that OIT is needed to help ensure that U.S. small businesses have sound access to international markets (here). “We know that the issues that small businesses are facing are related to information, to financing and to market access, and we need one entity that ensures that on all horizontal levels across the federal agencies what every federal agency is doing is ensuring that they are including small business in the everyday of what they do,” she said. The hearing was convened to focus on the utility of OIT utility for small businesses.

Lawmakers recently introduced the following trade-related bills: