The Senate Commerce Committee approved the Port Performance Act as part of a broader transportation bill on July 15. Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., merged the port bill into the Comprehensive Transportation and Consumer Protection Act of 2015, S-1732, before the July 15 committee markup. The broader bill passed 13-11 along party lines.

A group of Senators hit back on July 15 at reports that the State Department may upgrade Malaysia to Tier 2 in its annual Trafficking in Persons Report. State cited evidence of pervasive human trafficking in Malaysia in the 2014 report (here). “It is difficult to fathom how the State Department could justify upgrading Malaysia given that the country failed to address the problem in the year leading up to the June 1, 2015 statutory deadline for the TIP report’s publication,” said the letter (here), led by Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and signed by 18 additional lawmakers, mostly Democrats. Menendez spearheaded efforts to include language in Trade Promotion Authority to ban expedited consideration of free trade agreement implementation legislation with Tier 3 countries (see 1504270008). “Sadly, the report is already more than five weeks overdue; it is on pace to be the latest report ever released,” said the letter. “An unwarranted upgrade for Malaysia in the 2015 report, especially if based on actions undertaken after the closing of the 2015 reporting period, would weaken the credibility of our TIP ranking system.” Lawmakers planned to add language in Customs Reauthorization conference to supersede the TPA trafficking (see 1507070066). Reuters first reported several days ago on the expected upgrade (see 1507090050).

The House Agriculture Committee approved legislation on July 14 to unify federal labeling regulations on foods produced with genetically engineered plants, including imports. The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015 aims to “provide for a system of orderly marketing of agricultural products through the development of national, enforceable standards for labeling claims,” said the committee (here). Committee lawmakers approved the bill as a substitute (here). Reps. Mike Pompeo, R-Kansas, and G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., introduced the original legislation (here) in March.

Draft country-of-origin labeling legislation floated by Senate Agriculture ranking member Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich. in June won’t stamp out the threat of Canadian and Mexican retaliation against U.S. exports, said the National Foreign Trade Council in a recent blog (here). The draft proposal (here) gives U.S. industry the opportunity to voluntarily declare goods “made in America.” U.S. agricultural producers hit back strongly against the proposal at a late June hearing (see 1506250027).

House appropriators passed legislation 32-17 to fund the Department of Homeland Security in fiscal year 2016 in a partisan July 14 vote. The Office of Management and Budget criticized funding levels in the legislation, but made no specific mention of trade-related functions (see 1507140012). CBP is funded through DHS appropriations. The House Appropriations Committee has now passed all 12 funding bills for FY16, the committee leadership said following the vote (here). Appropriations currently in place expire on Sept. 30. Senate appropriators passed their DHS bill in June (see 1507090051).

The Obama administration rejects “sequestration” spending levels in the House Homeland Security appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2016, said Office of Management and Budget Director Shaun Donovan in a July 13 letter to House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers, R-Ky. The letter makes no specific mention of trade-related functions. CBP is funded through DHS appropriations. “The inadequate overall funding levels in the Republicans' 2016 budget framework, along with misplaced priorities, cause a number of problems with the subcommittee bill specifically,” said the letter (here), referring to the DHS bill. “At these levels, the bill makes dangerous tradeoffs that would damage border security, weaken Federal emergency response, and limit national preparedness for future threats and hazards.” The House is marking the bill up on July 14. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved its bill in June (see 1507090051).

A House vote to initiate Customs Reauthorization conference is due for "possible consideration" this week, said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., in a recent memo. Some trade experts expected a vote as early as last week (see 1507070066). The Senate voted in favor of going to conference in late June.

The Mexican auto industry continues to exploit low labor standards and declining wages to boost manufacturing, and the country may soon surpass Canada and Japan as the largest auto exporter to the U.S., said House Ways and Means ranking member Sandy Levin, D-Mich., in a July 10 blog post (here). Levin used research from a University of California NAFTA scholar, Harley Shaiken, for much of the arguments he spelled out in the blog (here).

The Senate-passed ENFORCE Act would help bolster the U.S. manufacturing industry by cracking down on illegal shipments to the U.S., said U.S. manufacturers in a recent letter to Senate Finance and House Ways and Means leadership. U.S. manufacturing is under “assault” by successful antidumping and countervailing duty duty evasion schemes, said the letter, signed by the National Association of Manufacturers, the American Iron and Steel Institute, the American Wire Producers Association and the Coalition to Enforce Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Orders.

The House Appropriations Committee unveiled Homeland Security Fiscal Year 2016 legislation in recent days, and the subcommittee with jurisdiction approved the bill on July 8. The legislation gives CBP funding to staff 23,775 CBP officers and 21,370 Border Patrol agents. The House bill provides a total $11.1 billion in discretionary funds for CBP, which is an increase from FY15 but nearly $350 million below the White House budget request, said the committee (here). Senate appropriators approved that chamber's version of the legislation in mid-June, and that bill can move to the floor at any time (here). The funding levels for CBP are nearly identical in both bills.