A gamut of over 60 organizations ranging from labor and environmental groups to a social forum website launched the “Stop Fast Track” initiative on Jan. 22, aiming to derail Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), also known as fast track, through 10 days of protest and other political and social pressure. The organizations are orchestrating a protest in Washington D.C. on Jan. 28 (here) that seeks to bring attention to corporate subservience in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact, said a statement released by public relations firm Fitzgibbon Media. The Obama Administration continues to negotiate the pact with the other 11 participant nations.
House and Senate Farm Bill conferees should retain country of origin labeling in a final Farm Bill conference report in order to ensure Americans are provided clear information regarding meat sources, said a group of nearly 100 advocacy organizations in a Jan. 22 letter to the conferees. The current COOL law is in line with World Trade Organization rulings, said the agricultural and labor associations, among other advocates. Moreover, the conferees should resist a proposal purportedly floated in mid-January that would retain the law but scale back the information requirements, said the letter.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on the nomination of Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., as ambassador to China on Jan. 28 at 10 a.m. President Barack Obama nominated Baucus for the position on Dec. 20 (see 13122015).
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., should consider holding a series of hearings in the near future to investigate Federal Highway Trust Fund financing options, said Ways and Means ranking member Sander Levin, D-Mich., and 15 other House Democratic lawmakers in a Jan. 16 letter (here). The funding allocation for the program expires on Sept. 30, 2014, said the lawmakers.
New lobbyist registrations on trade-related issues include:
Recent trade-related bills introduced in Congress include:
Recent trade-related bills introduced in Congress include:
Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., voted in opposition to the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014, in part due to the legislation's continued funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Catfish Inspection Program, McCain said in a Jan. 16 statement. The legislation passed the House 359-67 on Jan. 15 and moved through the Senate the following day with a 72-26 roll call. “The $1 trillion Omnibus also includes a wasteful provision directing the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to continue developing its duplicative Catfish Inspection Office -- even though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has a similar inspection office,” said McCain. “This program would disrupt our trade relations with Asian countries, some of which, including Vietnam, have threatened World Trade Organization (WTO) retaliation against our agriculture exports, like beef and soybeans.”
The elimination of trade restrictions on chicken products through the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations would help expand U.S. chicken exports that already account for 20 percent of total U.S. chicken product sales, said Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., and Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., along with nine other Senators, in a Jan. 14 letter to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. The Canadian supply management program, in particular, significantly limits U.S. chicken exports to the country, said the Senators.
The Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities Act fails to provide for congressional consultation and oversight in trade negotiations, doesn't improve access to negotiating information and lacks strong mechanisms that mandate negotiating objectives are fulfilled, said a group of 12 Democratic Senators in a Jan. 15 letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. The letter preceded a Jan. 16 hearing on the legislation, regarded as the 2014 iteration of Trade Promotion Authority (see 14011616). The inclusion of Trade Adjustment Assistance in an omnibus final bill is positive, said the letter, but the legislation must improve provisions that strengthen U.S. industry.