Mike Froman, President Obama's nominee for U.S. Trade Representative, will work with Congress toward renewing Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), Froman said during the June 6 nomination hearing before the Senate Finance Committee. President Obama himself is also asking for TPA to be renewed, said Froman. Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Ranking Member Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, both said they will support Froman's nomination, though Hatch had harsh words about an off-shore investment account of Froman's, saying it represents the "hypocrisy" of the Obama administration in light of the President's rhetoric against such accounts. Several lawmakers have expressed eagerness to see TPA authority renewed (see 13031902).

A bipartisan group of Senators reintroduced a currency exchange rate oversight bill June 5, which would include a requirement for the Commerce Department to extend countervailing duty investigations to undervalued currency and would broaden the Department’s export subsidy investigation requirements. The Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Reform Act passed the Senate in 2011, and mirrors components of a currency manipulator bill introduced in the House in March (see 13032129). The bill is designed to use “U.S. trade law to counter the economic harm to U.S. manufacturers caused by currency manipulation,” according to a summary of the bill from Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, one of the bill’s sponsors.

The House of Representatives approved the 2014 Homeland Security Appropriations bill on June 6, despite a White House veto threat (see 13060422). The Obama administration said it objects to the “draconian” cuts in the bill, and the lack of an “overall budget framework” for the appropriations debate. House lawmakers approved amendments prohibiting CBP from paying for an Abu Dhabi customs clearance facility and reducing “Automation Modernization” funding during June 5 floor debate.

Recent trade-related bills introduced in Congress, as of May 29, include:

New lobbyist registrations on trade issues as of May 29 include:

Despite progress on restricting Iran’s economy -- implementing expansive sanctions, enforcing export controls, targeting the country’s oil and shipping sectors -- Iran and its progressing nuclear program remain a national security threat, and the U.S. must continue the sanctions pressure, federal officials and lawmakers said at a Senate Banking Committee hearing June 4.

The discovery of genetically engineered (GE) wheat in Oregon could put as much as $500 million in Oregon wheat exports in danger, and federal agencies should ensure the Department of Agriculture’s investigation into the GE wheat does not damage U.S. trading relationships, Oregon’s Democratic Senator, Ron Wyden, said in a May 30 letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced discovery of the GE wheat May 29, after being notified of its presence by an Oregon State University scientist. No GE wheat varieties are approved for sale, or in commercial production, in the U.S. The variety APHIS found indicates the presence of the same specific variety that agriculture biotech company Monsanto was authorized to field test in 16 states from 1998 to 2005, APHIS said (here). After the announcement about the GE wheat, the European Union said it will test all U.S. wheat imports. Japan also cancelled an order for U.S. wheat.

The Senate Finance Committee will hold a nomination hearing for President Obama's U.S. Trade Representative nominee June 6, Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., announced May 30. The Thursday hearing for nominee Mike Froman will be 10 a.m. EDT in Room 215 of the Dirksen Senate Office building. For more on Froman's background see 13050221.

A Tennessee congresswoman wants President Obama to provide a “full explanation” of the 2011 Lacey Act raids on Gibson Guitar, linking the raid to the recent Internal Revenue Service scandal. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., said in a May 29 statement that recent administration scandals “raise a number of questions about who they choose to target and why. The arrogance and lack of transparency displayed by this President and his cabinet officials in events such as the raids on Gibson Guitar and the IRS targeting of conservative groups show a complete disregard for the rule of law.” Gibson and the Justice Department settled their Lacey Act violation dispute -- related to the purchase of wood from Madagascar and India -- in August 2012 (see 12080721). Blackburn was one of a group of representatives who sent a letter to the Justice and Interior departments following the 2011 raid, asking why it was necessary. In her statement, Blackburn said the administration assured no musicians would be targeted, but "provided no real answers about the raid itself." The White House and Gibson didn't return requests for comment.

A New York Senator heartily criticized CBP for being “asleep at the wheel” and failing to collect millions in antidumping duties on illegal Chinese wooden furniture imports May 29, and said the agency should publicly identify and collect the fees immediately. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., condemned CBP outside Stickley Furniture in Manlius, a town southeast of Syracuse, NY. CBP’s negligence costs furniture manufacturers “tens of millions of dollars across the country, and it is felt deeply at home where Stickley Furniture, one of Central New York’s landmark companies, has been denied an estimated $2 million dollars in uncollected fees,” he said. In a statement, Schumer said he previously worked to impose AD duties on companies unfairly competing with domestic furniture producers. CBP, however, has not collected the fees, failed to disclose which companies are hurt by the AD evasion and failed to reveal how much the companies are owed. “I am calling on the CBP to swiftly reconcile the damages owed to Stickley so they can expand production, maintain and grow their workforce,” Schumer said. CBP didn't comment.