A Congressional Research Service report on agricultural trade issues in the U.S. noted that even though ag exports to China dropped 53% from 2017 to 2018 due to retaliatory tariffs, overall ag exports only fell 2% in 2019, and some of that was due to lower commodity prices rather than lower volume. The report covered agricultural issues in the bilateral trade negotiations with Japan, Kenya, India, the European Union and United Kingdom, and noted that ag trade between the U.S. and the EU is less than 1% of all trade between the two regions, though the EU is the fifth-largest market for U.S. commodity and food exports. The top ag exports to the EU were corn, soybeans, tree nuts, distilled spirits and fish. Top imports from the EU were wine, distilled spirits, beer, bottled water and olive oil.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., introduced a non-binding resolution Feb. 27 that asks the administration to begin free trade negotiations with Tunisia.
CBP Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan acknowledged that the agency has not been able to spend the hundreds of millions of dollars Congress has provided to purchase non-intrusive screening equipment for ports of entry. Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., had asked: of the $182 million sent to CBP for non-intrusive inspection equipment in fiscal year 2018, the $264 million in fiscal year 2019 and the $60 million sent in the current fiscal year, how much has been spent?
During a hearing that House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., said was designed to test President Donald Trump's claim that the phase one agreement with China is a “tremendous win for the American people,” most of what was revealed was that Democrats are skeptical of the purchase promises and likelihood of success of further negotiations, and Republicans admire Trump's confrontation of China.
The House Ways and Means Committee has invited a union official, a commissioner from the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission, a former assistant U.S. trade representative, a major university president, and two farmers to testify on U.S-China trade competition. The hearing, which starts at 10:30 a.m. Feb. 26, will include testimony from Tim Stratford, the former assistant USTR; Thea Lee, the commissioner who is also president of the left-of-center think tank Economic Policy Institute; Rafael Reif, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Owen Herrnstadt, chief of staff for the Machinists union; Tim Dufault, a Minnesota farmer; and Richard Guebert Jr., president of the Illinois Farm Bureau.
Six Democratic senators recently sent a letter that calls for suspending Generalized System of Preferences program benefits if labor rights violations are found in the Philippines. The senators also oppose a free trade agreement with the Philippines. This letter, sent Feb. 11, follows a letter from House Democrats in 2018 that also argued that the Philippines is not the right target for a free trade deal, given the human rights violations there (see: 1809050040). “We are gravely concerned that our trade policy could be mistaken for condoning the labor and human rights violations perpetrated by President Duterte,” wrote Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.; Ron Wyden, D-Ore; Robert Menendez, D-N.J.; Ben Cardin, D-Md., and Bob Casey, D-Pa. They asked for an out-of-cycle review for GSP eligibility over human rights and labor rights, and for a quick suspension from the program if violations are substantiated.
While auto parts, LCD panels and pharmaceuticals are most concentrated in the Chinese province where the coronavirus epidemic began, a recent Congressional Research Service report noted that quarantines are affecting port staffing, which can affect all shipments from China. “Business reopening has been uneven across sectors and locations in China. Many firms are awaiting government approvals to reopen and are facing difficulties in meeting new operating requirements, such as providing masks for employees,” the report said. Because passenger air traffic has been curtailed to and from China, there is much less space for air cargo shipments.
A bipartisan group of 19 senators, led by Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., are asking the U.S. trade representative to get a deal done with the United Kingdom before the U.K. reaches its agreement with the European Union. The letter, made public Feb. 18, says the U.K. “has the greatest freedom of action now,” and getting a comprehensive agreement before the EU agreement will give the U.S. “the best possible chance of earning new access to U.K. markets.” They urged that the deal not be limited to a few sectors, and that he follow Congress's fast track negotiating objective.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said he doesn't think the Trump administration will ever levy an additional 25% tax on imported autos, even as President Donald Trump continues to mention that threat in an effort to get European negotiators to open up to American agriculture exports. Grassley, who was responding to a reporter's question on how to get the European Union to bend during a conference call Feb. 18, said he doesn't think the EU will negotiate much on ag.
The House of Representatives passed a bill that would require CBP to develop a plan “to increase CBP’s non-intrusive-inspection scanning rates to 100% of commercial and passenger vehicles at all land ports of entry that includes incremental timeframes and estimated costs by port.” The bill, called the Securing America's Ports Act, passed on a voice vote Feb. 10. It does not have a Senate companion bill, and the Senate has been passing next to no legislation in this session, instead concentrating its energy on appointing judges.