Karen Dunn Kelley's nomination to be deputy secretary of Commerce was approved by the Senate Nov. 28 by a 62-38 vote. She is being promoted from under secretary of Commerce for economic affairs, and had been acting deputy secretary.
President Donald Trump should not back down from taking further action against China should the country fail to make real concessions just to get a “meaningless” deal done at the upcoming G-20 Conference in Buenos Aires, said a group of prominent Democratic senators in a letter dated Nov. 28. “China has not offered to make any structural reforms to their trade practices regarding the use of government subsidies to boost its emerging industries, technology transfers, and espionage,” said a statement released alongside the letter, citing a report in The New York Times. “We urge you to stand firm against China if meaningful concessions are not made. American jobs, American innovation, and long-term American economic prosperity are at stake,” said the letter, signed by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., as well as Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. Section 301 tariffs against China are scheduled to rise to 25 percent on Jan. 1, 2019, unless Trump directs otherwise.
Miller Baker, co-chair of McDermott, Will & Emery's appellate practice, will have his nomination for the Court of International Trade considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee during a Nov. 28 hearing. Baker once served as counsel to Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. Also during the hearing will be consideration of the nomination of Timothy M. Reif, a senior adviser in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, for elevation to the CIT. He previously was general counsel at USTR, and chief international trade counsel to the House Ways and Means Committee.
Ten Republican senators, led by avid free-trader Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, wrote to the White House Nov. 20 recommending a lame-duck session vote on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. "We are concerned that if the Administration waits until next year to send to Congress a draft implementing bill, passage of the USMCA as negotiated will become significantly more difficult," they wrote. They said that fast track requires a 30-day waiting period between the final legal text's submission and a draft implementing bill's submission, but said that final legal text could be sent before the signing.
A bipartisan letter from 19 senators, led by Ohio Republican Rob Portman, praised the administration for starting the fast-track process for a free trade deal with the United Kingdom. The letter, sent Nov. 16, acknowledged that negotiations with America's fourth-largest export market cannot begin until Britain leaves the European Union, but said the U.S. "should be at the front of the line for an agreement."
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, plans to take over as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee after current chairman Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, retires at the end of this Congress, he said in a news release. Grassley said that "he will opt to serve as chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance during the 116th Congress when committees are organized in January." Senate Republican Conference rules limit Grassley to serving as chairman for just one more full Congress, he said, as he has previously been chairman two times for full Congresses 2003-2007, plus a six-month stint in 2001. He's also been the committee's ranking member at times during 2001-2011.
Two House Democrats said NAFTA led to outsourcing to Mexico, and that they would not support a rewritten version of the trade deal unless it eliminates the incentives for outsourcing jobs by U.S. companies. Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., ranking member of the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee, said "the jury is still out as to whether this deal meets my standard for a better deal for American workers."
A group of 14 House Democrats, led by New Jersey's Frank Pallone, introduced H.R. 7115, the 3D Firearms Prevention Act. The bill, introduced Nov. 2, would prohibit the distribution into commerce or import into the U.S. of "certain firearm receiver castings or blanks, assault weapon parts kits, and machine gun parts kits," among other priorities. Given the number of budget bills that have to be addressed in the lame duck session, the chances of the bill becoming law this year are very slim. It would have to be reintroduced next year, because bills expire at the end of each two-year congressional term.
A letter from 10 Democratic senators to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer complained about the fact that no exclusion process has been set up for the nearly $200 billion in goods from China subject to an additional 10 percent tariff under Section 301. Sen. Tim Kaine, who led the letter, asked why there hasn't been an exclusion process for the third tranche, while there is one for the first and second rounds of the tariffs. The senators urged that an exclusion process be established immediately, given that this third tranche of tariffs is set to increase to 25 percent on Jan. 1. Kaine also asked if there is any intention to implement an exclusion application process, and if so, how it will be implemented. A group of House lawmakers also asked Lighthizer about the exclusions process earlier this month (see 1810160049). A Republican Senate trade staffer said Oct. 23 that USTR is not pursuing an exclusion process for this larger list. He said the office still hasn't granted any exclusions from the first two lists, and allowing applications for the third tranche would be a logistical problem.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer should put in place a process for exclusion from the 10 percent Section 301 tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, which the Trump administration imposed last month (see 1809240015), a group of 169 members of Congress said in an Oct. 15 letter to the USTR. While the USTR allowed for exclusions to each of the first two lists of Section 301 tariffs, there's been no mention from the administration about a similar process for the latest list of tariffs. A wide range of industries asked the USTR for an exclusion process in a letter last month (see 1809270038).