Chairman for the Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Lee Terry, R-Neb., delivered on July 24 opening remarks at a subcommittee hearing on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The partnership is a prospective economic pact between the U.S. and EU that would cover half of global GDP and 30 percent of world trade. Negotiations remain underway. “TTIP represents a historic opportunity for both sides to create greater openness, transparency and convergence in regulatory approaches and standards while reducing unnecessarily redundant requirements,” said Chairman Lee, who praised historically low tariff rates shared between the U.S. and EU.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee met July 24 for legislative markup on three trade bills or related legislation, according to a press release from Committee Chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif.:
House Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Sander Levin, D-Mich., released on July 23 an action plan (here) designed to benefit U.S. industry in ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations with Japan. The congressman outlined three primary steps to achieve that goal. The plan aims to tie U.S. automobile tariff reduction to the success of imports into Japan. That would incentivize Japanese auto market liberalization through TPP. According to the plan, this specific phase-out period should be the “longest” TPP phase-out period. Levin also appeared at the Peterson Institute for International Economics July 23 to deliver prepared remarks and participate in a question and answer session (here).
Recent trade-related bills introduced in Congress include:
Senate Agriculture Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., sent the Farm Bill back to the House on July 18, in a move designed to establish conference and begin negotiations. The chairwoman reportedly added nutrition programs, including food stamps provisions, that House lawmakers declined to include in the House bill passed in mid-July. “We are, in fact, now officially sending back our Senate bill to the House and requesting a conference on the Farm Bill,” Stabenow said July 18 on the Senate floor. “This is a very important step.” The Senate passed its version of the Farm Bill in June. A staffer with Senator Stabenow did not immediately comment on the impact the move to conference will have on the future of the Farm Bill.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont. and Ranking Member Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, introduced Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) renewal legislation late July 18. The announcement comes in the wake of House GSP renewal legislation, introduced July 17 (see 13071819). The GSP system is slated to expire on July 31, at which point U.S. importers will face steep hikes in tariff rates unless renewal law is passed.
The Senate approved Fred Hochberg's nomination for president and chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. The Senate approval allows Hochberg to serve a second term as head of the Ex-Im bank.
House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich, would like to see action on the customs reauthorization bill as long as it includes language addressing antidumping/countervailing duty enforcement proposed by Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La., Camp said in a speech at the Washington International Trade Association annual dinner on July 17. The AD/CV language has emerged as a sticking point between different versions of the customs reauthorization bills put forth (see 13040911) by Republicans and Democrats. "I would also like to move a bipartisan customs reauthorization bill focusing on three critical elements: modernization, facilitation and enforcement," said Camp. "The effective legislation that Congressman Charles Boustany of Louisiana has developed to address the pervasive problem of trade remedy duty evasion is essential."
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a scaled-back version of the Farm Bill on July 11 in a narrow, partisan vote. The bill (here) earned the support of 216 lawmakers, with 208 members voting against the measure. No Democrats supported the bill. Many members of the Democratic caucus voiced criticism over the bill’s overhaul of food stamp provisions. The House failed last month to pass the original, much larger version of the bill.
A bipartisan group of 15 prominent U.S. Senators submitted a letter (here) to newly inducted USTR head Michael Froman on July 9, urging decrease in footwear tariffs as part of the ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. The Senators emphasized the need to liberalize footwear imports with prospective TPP signatory Vietnam, noting 8 percent of U.S. footwear imports originate in the Southeast Asian nation. The letter said 99 percent of footwear sold in the U.S. is imported, and therefore duty relief will not jeopardize U.S. manufacturing employment. Forty-five U.S. House members submitted another letter (here) to Froman the following day on July 10. While the letter largely reiterated the arguments of the Senate submission, House members stressed U.S. innovation jobs will be produced through footwear tariff relief. Footwear design, engineering and technological development positions are located in the U.S., according to the letter.