The Trans-Pacific Partnership should build on currency manipulation rules administered by the International Monetary Fund, and the agreement should also put into effect an enforcement mechanism, said House Ways and Means ranking member Sandy Levin, D-Mich., in a briefing on Feb. 6 (here). The TPP negotiations have not yet broached currency, but that must change, said Levin. The U.S. Treasury Department isn’t likely to be affected by TPP currency rules, said Levin. The day before, during testimony at the Finance Committee on Feb. 5, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said the administration is opposed to currency rules in TPP because that may hamper Treasury’s ability to act, according to media reports (here).

Twenty-five House Democrats, alongside Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., introduced a bill on Feb. 5 to require foreign partners to give reciprocal market access concessions in U.S. free trade agreements. Reps. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., and Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., led the bill’s introduction for the Democrats.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., again chided Republican leadership on Feb. 5 for moving to debate a Department of Homeland Security funding measure that would obstruct implementation of President Barack Obama's November executive action on immigration. Earlier in the day, Senate Democrats filibustered the third Republican attempt this week to open debate on the bill (see 1502040062). Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., joined Democrats in opposition. "If Republicans want to debate immigration we can go right ahead and do that. But not on the back of homeland security," said Reid in a statement (here). Congress funds CBP through DHS appropriations legislation and funding will lapse on Feb. 28. The House passed HR-240 (here), the bill Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., wants to debate, in January.

Dozens of U.S. agricultural producers and industry associations, along with Wal-Mart, urged Congress on Feb. 5 to pass Trade Promotion Authority “as quickly as possible,” in a letter to House and Senate members. TPA will usher in free trade agreements that slash barriers to trade, and U.S. agricultural is poised to benefit significantly from an expanding U.S. trade agenda, said the letter (here).

The U.S. should move faster on introducing a North American "single window," that would would allow for reduced customs filings, said Shannon O'Neil, senior fellow for Latin America Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. CBP has discussed such plans with Mexican and Canadian officials (see 14061803), though it's not clear when such a system would be in place. O'Neil, who mentioned the idea in Feb. 3 testimony (here) for the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, also said NAFTA rules of origin provisions deserve a review.

Lawmakers introduced the following trade-related bills since International Trade Today's last legislative update:

Canadian Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz traveled to Capitol Hill this week to "reinforce Canada's position" in the North American dispute over country-of-origin-labeling, his office said in a statement (here). Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., met with Ritz, according to a picture Roberts' office released on Feb. 4 (here). Roberts' staffers didn't respond for comment. Ritz will meet with members of the House and Senate during his time on Capitol Hill, said the Canadian statement. Members of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association, the Canadian Pork Council, and the Canadian Meat Council accompanied Ritz.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., tried on Feb. 4 and again on Feb. 5 to pass a procedural motion to allow debate on the House-passed Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill, but Democrats in the chamber, along with one Republican colleague, blocked both attempts in a Senate maneuver widely referred to as a filibuster. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Utah, joined Democrats in casting opposition ballots on both votes. McConnell needs 60 to move forward with the bill. The "yes" votes totaled 53 on Feb. 4 and 52 the following day. The House legislation, HR-240 (here), contains language to scale back President Barack Obama's executive action on immigration, and he has repeatedly vowed to veto the bill. Congress funds CBP through DHS appropriations legislation. A lapse in DHS funding may put out of work thousands of CBP officers, Obama recently said 1502020034). Senate Democrats also blocked McConnell's move to debate the bill on Feb. 3 (see 1502040008).

As Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., takes on his second month as House Ways and Means chairman, his top priority is wrapping up talks on free trade agreements and putting those pacts into force, Ryan said in a Feb. 5 speech at the Washington International Trade Association. Ryan urged countries involved in Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations to either meet U.S. expectations for trade barrier removals or join the talks at a later time, a statement couched in criticism toward both Canadian and Japanese reluctance to slash agricultural duties and regulatory restrictions.

U.S. exports to Japan are dropping due to ongoing undervaluation of the Japanese yen, and Congress needs to tackle currency manipulation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, said a paper released by the Economic Policy Institute on Feb. 4 (here). The author of the paper, EPI Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Research Robert Scott, joined Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul and Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., on a conference call on the same day to discuss the paper.