Sen. Rob Portman will become the latest Republican to try to address the way the administration has wielded Section 232 tariffs, quotas and threats of tariffs. Portman, who represents Ohio and is a former U.S. trade representative, is working on a bill that would change the statute that currently allows the president to take action on whether imports imperil national security while recognizing "the close relation of the economic welfare of the Nation to our national security." The law says that substantial unemployment, loss of skills or investment and declining tax revenues should be considered "in determining whether such weakening of our internal economy may impair the national security."
The three Republican lawmakers from South Dakota told President Donald Trump his trade policy could put many agriculture producers on the brink of collapse. While agriculture contributes only about 1 percent of GDP nationally, it's 10 percent of South Dakota's gross state product, according to South Dakota State University. "Recent market uncertainty has already cost South Dakota producers hundreds of millions of dollars, and the delegation hopes this letter serves as a reminder to the president that this industry cannot afford to be further entangled in global trade disputes," a press release on Sen. John Thune's website said. Thune is in the Republican Senate leadership. The three's letter to Trump, dated July 11, also said, "Although you have stated that the agriculture sector will be taken care of through some form of USDA assistance, please keep in mind that U.S. export market share is diminishing daily at an alarming rate, and history has proven that once lost, export markets can take years, even decades to recapture."
A House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee hearing on the effects of tariffs on rural communities has been scheduled for July 18, subcommittee chairman Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Wash., announced. "Farmers, growers, and ranchers in my home state of Washington and around the country are significantly hurt because products that they are forced to import to stay competitive -- such as agriculture equipment, chemicals, steel, and aluminum -- are now prohibitively expensive," he said. "Adding insult to injury, these same farmers, growers, and ranchers are experiencing severe retaliation through prohibitive tariffs and other measures by their major customers including China, Canada, Mexico, and the EU." No witnesses have been announced. Democrats on House Ways and Means have been pressing for months for administration officials to testify on various trade strategies, including NAFTA renegotiations and China (see 1807110024).
It's only a "baby step" toward sparing Canada, Mexico and the European Union from steel and aluminum tariffs, as Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said, but 88 senators issued a rebuke of how the president has justified steel and aluminum tariffs under the guise of national security. Eleven senators -- all Republicans -- voted no, including both senators from Idaho, Wyoming and South Carolina. The last state could be badly damaged if President Donald Trump levies tariffs on imported auto parts under the same national security justification. Corker's home state of Tennessee also would be vulnerable if an auto parts tariff is implemented.
The additional tariffs under sections 232 and 301 "place significant barriers on the fight against harmful fakes," a group of trade associations said in a June 26 letter to the House Ways and Means Committee leadership. "U.S. tariffs on critical imported machinery not only hurt industries, but the additional costs trickle-down to consumers thus, affecting their choices," said the American Apparel and Footwear Association, the American Bridal and Prom Industry Association, the Fashion Jewelry and Accessories Trade Association, the National Office Products Alliance, the Precious Metals Association of North America, and the Water Quality Association. "Rather than pay more for legitimate goods, we fear that consumers might seek cheap counterfeits as a replacement, whether knowingly or unknowingly. In other words, U.S. policy could help legitimize fake goods at the expense of rightful intellectual property owners."
Despite hope that senators who were not ready to support the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill could be won over on June 28 (see 1806280065), the bill did not come up for a vote before the Senate adjourned for the July 4 holiday. Senate Finance Committee staffers did not offer any estimate of when the MTB might be considered.
A Louisiana Republican introduced a bill that would require 20 percent of imported seafood to be inspected by the Food and Drug Administration, and require that the first 15 shipments from a new exporter each be inspected. If a shipment fails any measure of inspection, the exporter would be subject to 15 consecutive inspections again. Currently, about 2 percent of imported seafood is inspected, according to Food and Water Watch.
An effort to add an amendment to the Senate farm bill that would require approval from Congress for Section 232 tariffs to go into effect was stopped on June 27. Sen. Sherrod Brown, who said steel towns in his home state of Ohio have been devastated, blocked a vote on the amendment sponsored by Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn. Brown, a Democrat who largely supports President Donald Trump's approach on trade, said that Canada and Mexico "are primary targets for transshipment" of unfairly traded steel from China, and said that everyone has "seen the tricks China uses to get around the antidumping and countervailing duty laws."
Two Republican senators who are retiring this year believe some of their colleagues will take a stand against the protectionist approach of the Trump administration. "Republicans need to stand up to tariffs," Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., said during a June 24 interview. "We're in the nascent stages of a full-scale trade war, and the president simply seems to want to escalate." He said until a bill (see 1806220014) that would require a vote on Section 232 tariffs moves, "I think myself and a number of senators, at least a few of us, will say, 'Let's not move any more judges.'"
The Senate Appropriations Bill for the Department of Homeland Security for fiscal year 2019 would spend $14.26 billion on CBP, almost $239 million more than the current spending. The committee report said that it's sending $49 million for 375 additional CBP officers, "in recognition of wait times at certain ports of entry as well as the volume of illicit drugs passing through POEs." With regard to drugs smuggled through ports of entry, the report says the Senate intends to provide $30 million in support of enforcement at international mail facilities and express consignment carrier locations "by enhancing scientific and laboratory staffing, increasing law enforcement staffing and canines, improving facilities, deploying technology to locate targeted packages, enhancing detection and testing equipment, and improving interoperability with FDA detection equipment." The bill provides $174 million for non-intrusive inspection equipment, of which the $30 million for opioids is a subset.