The House Ways and Means Committee on Jan. 9 announced the appointment of 10 Democrats that will be joining the 40-person committee. The members of the Trade Subcommittee have not yet been selected.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, reiterated that he will evaluate the president's authority to impose tariffs under Section 232, saying, "I do not believe that we should alienate our allies with tariffs disguised as national security protections." Grassley released a statement Jan. 9 on his priorities for the new Congress. He also said, "I’m not fond of the Section 301 tariffs on products from China, but I agree with the reasons they’ve been applied. I’ll continue to engage with the Administration on the ongoing trade dispute with China in hopes that negotiations will result in a change in China’s discriminatory policies and practices and an easing of tariffs and tensions. The World Trade Organization is also on his to-do list. "I have great interest in reforming and strengthening the WTO, which is a clearinghouse for our rules-based international trading system. I plan to work closely with the administration and our allies to strengthen the ability of the WTO to more effectively meet the demands of our global economy."
Continued economic "prosperity" is no "foregone conclusion” amid the broadly held concern about the impact to the U.S. economy of the Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports, Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, and “corresponding retaliation against U.S. exports, said Americans for Free Trade in a Jan. 9 “welcome” letter to newly elected and returning members of Congress. “We agree that China must be held to account for its violations of our trade laws and the international trade obligations all nations share,” said the coalition, whose 150 members include multiple associations of customs brokers. “Imposition of a tariff of up to 25 percent on $250 billion worth of China products -- and the threat to impose a similar duty on $267 billion more of such products -- will not remedy the situation. We continue to see stories on a daily basis about companies, both large and small, who are being harmed by these tariffs.” The coalition urges Congress to “exercise its oversight role on trade policy matters to prevent further harm to U.S. workers, consumers, and families that will result from both the existing and proposed tariffs,” it said.
A Florida congressman is asking the Government Accountability Office to study whether tariffs on electronic components, routers and telecom network equipment will make creating a 5G network more costly. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., is asking colleagues to join him in requesting a GAO report. He said he'd like GAO analysts to answer these questions about the additional costs to the U.S. when deploying 5G infrastructure and how the tariffs affect the competition among 5G hardware manufacturers. Hastings would also like to know more about the "national security implications of our entire supply chain of 5G infrastructure being dependent on foreign hardware manufacturers" and the "possible conflicts of interest between [Huawei] and the Trump Administration."
Three Florida legislators, from both the House and Senate, have reintroduced a bill that aims to change the rules of antidumping cases to benefit Florida fruit and vegetable growers who have lost market share to Mexican farms. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., said the bill "levels the playing field for Florida fruit and vegetable growers by allowing them to more easily combat Mexico’s unfair and illegal trade practices." Rep. Al Dawson, D-Fla., also sponsored the bill.
The Senate did not vote last year on the nominations of Miller Baker or Timothy Reif, both under consideration to become judges at the Court of International Trade (see 1811270025). So as the new Congress convened, the Senate sent both their nominations back to the White House. The White House can renew the nominations and the consideration of their nominations can start anew.
New Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, announced his trade policy staff, keeping several who served under the previous chairman.
The Corn Refiners Association, which represents those who process corn into sweeteners, starch, feed and oils, announced Jan. 3 that it will be lobbying for a swift ratification of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The trade association's CEO, John Bode, said, "Mexico and Canada are the two largest export markets for refined corn products, averaging over $900 million in shipments per year. CRA is pleased that the USMCA maintains the zero tariffs that were originally achieved for corn wet milled products under NAFTA, as well as the expansion and improvements to critical text concerning sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures, good regulatory practices, customs procedures, and cooperation on biotechnology."
The Foreign-Trade Zones Board should do a better job of recording its consideration of the required criteria when reviewing FTZ applications, the Government Accountability Office said in a newly released report. While FTZ board staff said they document only the most relevant criteria, the GAO said more is needed. "Without such documentation, the Board lacks an institutional record that all required criteria were considered and also lacks assurance that its decisions comply with U.S. trade and tariff law and public policy," the GAO said. The GAO reviewed a sample of 59 notifications from 2012 to 2017 and found "ten notifications were denied for reasons such as new or complex policy issues that required further review," it said. The review was done at the request of Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and other lawmakers. The FTZ Board executive secretary "has updated the applicable internal procedures memorandum regarding the processing of applications for production authority to include" the GAO's recommendations, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a Nov. 8 response.
The Government Accountability Office has agreed to look into the Commerce Department's steel and aluminum tariff exclusion process, though it cannot begin the study for about three months. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., one of the requesters, announced the GAO decision on Dec. 19. "I hope GAO's review produces recommendations for fixing this flawed process so more Americans are spared from these onerous taxes," Toomey said in a press release. The GAO said in its letter to Toomey that "staff with the required skills will be available to initiate an engagement in about three months." Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., who joined with Toomey and Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., in requesting an investigation said that "as of this fall, the Department of Commerce had received nearly 50,000 exclusion petitions from American manufacturers seeking relief from these misguided tariffs." Carper said the "Commerce Department has not only created a broken and convoluted exclusion process, but the agency has only managed to issue decisions in a third of these 50,000 pending cases."