Many Republicans in Congress have been accusing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of dawdling on ratifying the new NAFTA, and White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said that if it doesn't come to the floor of the House by the end of October, "I don't think we're gonna get it."
House Democrats and the Trump administration are “on a path to yes” to a bill for ratifying the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on free trade, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters Oct. 2. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., leads a USMCA working group that recently sent the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative a “counteroffer to what the administration has proposed,” Pelosi said. “When we can arrive at a place where not only do we have our issues addressed, but that we have enforceability that will make it real for America’s families and farmers, then we can go down that path.” President Donald Trump says he wants USMCA “to go forward, and we are awaiting the language on enforceability” from USTR, Pelosi said. She’s “hopeful” that House Democrats and USTR will reach agreement on USMCA enforceability, “and I’m hopeful that it will be soon,” she said. “We have a good working relationship” with USTR, she said. “Believe me, the quiet you hear is progress.”
House and Senate appropriators have disagreements on how much to spend on CBP and trade missions at the Commerce Department. The House of Representative passed spending bills during the summer, and the same bills have passed out of the Appropriations Committee in the Senate, but have not gotten votes on the floor. Any differences will have to be ironed out in a conference committee.
Even as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce gives a nudge to House members by advertising for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement in 12 districts, a top official is expressing confidence that the negotiations are on track. Neil Bradley, the chief policy officer, told reporters Oct. 1, "Our conversations with Democrats and Republicans lead us to believe we are close." He added, "We’ve kind of set a deadline we believe that USMCA should be passed before Thanksgiving. We picked that based off where we thought the progress was in the negotiations."
Mexico did not live up to its promise to open its market to U.S.-grown potatoes, says Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Colo., who announced Sept. 27 that he's asked Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to do something about it. Tipton's letter dated Sept. 25 mentions that the House is negotiating with the administration on the ratification of the NAFTA rewrite, but does not say he will tie his vote to the potato issue.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., introduced a bill that would distribute tariff revenue from safeguard tariffs on solar panels and washing machines, Section 232 tariffs and Section 301 tariffs to low and moderate-income taxpayers. The entire amount collected would be divided among taxpayers who earn less than $84,200 for individual filers or $168,400 for joint filers, he said Sept. 26. The household's share of the total revenue would come as a check, even if that household's tax liability was less than the amount. People who are claimed as dependents on others' taxes, or who do not have legal immigration status, would not be eligible.
Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, wants to ratify NAFTA 2.0, and believes the House will vote to do so in November or December. But in a speech Sept. 26 at the American Security Project, he told Mexican diplomats in the audience that they need to add more money to their labor budget.
Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Texas, along with five other Democrats, introduced a companion bill to the bipartisan Senate bill Protecting America's Food and Agriculture Act. H.R. 4482, introduced Sept. 24, instructs CBP to hire 240 more agricultural inspectors a year above the current rate of attrition, until the shortage is resolved. The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America supports the proposal (see 1907220044). The co-sponsors include Reps. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, Salud Carbajal, D-Calif., Jim Costa, D-Calif., Cindy Axne, D-Iowa, and Agriculture Committee Chairman Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn.
Rep. Jimmy Panetta, who represents an agriculture-heavy district in California, introduced the GARLIC Act Sept. 20, which would clarify that roasted or toasted garlic is subject to the same tariff rates as dried garlic. GARLIC stands for Giving Agriculture Relief from Loopholes in International Commerce, the Democrat said in a press release announcing the bill's introduction. Dried garlic has a 29.8 percent rate; roasted is less than half that. Panetta said exporters also add other vegetables to a package, but market the product as dried garlic, again, receiving a far lower duty rate. The bill, if passed, would say any mixture of vegetables that is at least 50 percent dried garlic by weight would be taxed at 29.8 percent. The bill has no co-sponsors as yet.
A bipartisan bill was recently introduced to remove Burma from the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program over its ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims. The lead sponsor, Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., is the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee chairman for Asia, and he was joined by Rep. Ann Wagner, D-Mo. “We cannot shy away from calling Burma’s persecution of the Rohingya people what it is: a genocide. The victims of these atrocities have fled their homes and are still suffering, despite the international community’s efforts to care for the refugees,” Sherman said in a press release announcing the bill. “The Rohingya need to be able to voluntarily return home safely and with dignity, and Congress should use all of its leverage available to pressure the Burmese government to make this happen.” Burma received tariff breaks on $117 million worth of exports in 2018, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. When India and Turkey were still enrolled, Burma ranked 16th among beneficiary countries. The leading exports from Burma covered by GSP were travel goods, dried beans, aluminum, honey, and preserved fruits and vegetables.