The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America in a Nov. 6 letter to the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees urged renewal of the Generalized System of Preferences prior to its Dec. 31 expiration, saying previous expirations of GSP caused significant economic damage and disruption. “There is longstanding, bipartisan consensus that GSP is a valuable program that should be extended,” NCBFAA wrote. “Congress knows that GSP helps lower the costs of raw materials or component parts for U.S. manufacturers, an important factor in keeping U.S. companies competitive in foreign markets and lowering the cost of finished products to U.S. consumers. Importantly, GSP only applies to products where there is no U.S. production.”
Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., on Oct. 31 introduced the Competitive Need Limitations Modernization Act of 2017, which would peg Generalized System of Preferences 504(d) waiver approvals to present-day production statistics. Under the 504(d) process, not the standard waiver process, CNL waivers are automatically granted for a list of products not made in the U.S. as of Jan. 1, 1995, but only if a CNL would be based solely on imports of a good from a specific country exceeding 50 percent of the value of total imports of that good into the U.S. during any calendar year after 1995. Donnelly’s bill would instead make the granting of 504(d) waivers contingent on the absence of domestic production in any of the three calendar years preceding the date of import. The bill would also change the yearly deadline for the executive branch to issue and revoke CNL waivers, from July 1 to Oct. 15.
House Homeland Security Committee ranking member Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., on Oct. 31, introduced legislation that would make permanent the Air Cargo Advance Screening (ACAS) program and chart an advisory committee review of whether the Known Shipper program should be changed or canceled, committee Democrats announced Nov. 2. “Specifically, my legislation would clarify air cargo security responsibilities at [the Transportation Security Administration], encourage further technological developments for screening air cargo, review existing air cargo programs, and require the Department of Homeland Security to make permanent the Air Cargo Advance Screening Program,” Thompson said Oct. 31, on the House floor.
A U.S. withdrawal from NAFTA could lead U.S. retailers and apparel companies to source more textiles and garments from Asia, which could reduce demand for U.S.-made yarns and fabrics within North America, according to an Oct. 30 Congressional Research Service report. As of 2016, China accounted for two-thirds of total worldwide man-made fiber production, the report says. Tariffs on U.S. textile imports from Canada and Mexico would rise from zero to 20 percent, and apparel imports would see tariffs increase from zero to 32 percent, without a NAFTA in place, the report highlights. Further, “U.S. exports of textiles and apparel could face higher tariff rates entering Canada and Mexico,” the report says. “Over the long run, global textile and apparel supply chains would adjust to a modified NAFTA or to its elimination, but it is unclear how long that may take.”
Consumer Product Safety Commission nominee Dana Baiocco vowed to senators on Nov. 1, to err on the side of voluntary recalls over mandatory recalls. During her Senate Commerce Committee confirmation hearing, Baiocco said voluntary recall is one of the most effective programs of the CPSC, and added that mandatory recalls take longer to develop, and should be issued only when the voluntary process fails. CPSC could expedite the voluntary process by “not getting bogged down” in “the details of the written message” all the time, she said.
Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., introduced legislation to designate certain footwear as eligible for the Generalized System of Preferences for the first time in the program’s more than 40-year history, following the May introduction of companion House legislation by Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb. (see 1705260035). Like its House counterpart, S. 2032 would qualify footwear classified in more than 20 tariff schedule subheadings in Chapter 64 for GSP treatment. Introduction of the bill drew praise from the American Apparel and Footwear Association. “Expanding [GSP] to cover shoes will support and grow well-paying American jobs, from design and marketing to logistics and retail,” AAFA CEO Rick Helfenbein said in a statement. “Duty reduction means U.S. footwear companies can reduce costs that can instead be invested in American workers, product innovation, and savings that can be passed on to consumers.” AAFA Executive Vice President Steve Lamar in a separate statement urged quick Senate passage of the footwear bill and overall GSP renewal legislation.
Thirty-eight House lawmakers wrote an Oct. 27 letter urging House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, and ranking member Richard Neal, D-Mass., to advance long-term Generalized System of Preferences renewal legislation “as quickly as possible,” with a looming program expiration date of Dec. 31. Led by Reps. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., and Jim Himes, D-Conn., the lawmakers said GSP slashed about $730 million in tariffs last year, and nearly two-thirds of GSP imports were raw materials, components and machinery, helping U.S. manufacturers and workers compete in a “tough global economy.”
The Senate on Oct. 26 confirmed Gregory Ibach to be under secretary of agriculture for marketing and regulatory programs, after the Senate Agriculture Committee cleared the nomination earlier this month (see 1710200005). President Donald Trump nominated Ibach for the post on Sept. 5 (see 1709050063).
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., will block the nominations of Gilbert Kaplan to be under secretary of commerce for international trade and Nazakhtar Nikakhtar to be an assistant secretary of commerce for industry and analysis at the International Trade Administration until the Commerce Department gives more information on the progress of metal import reviews, Schumer said in a statement. The Trump administration launched Section 232 investigations in April into whether steel and aluminum imports are a threat to national security, and affirmative findings could result in tariffs or quotas on those products. The investigations, led by the Commerce Department, remain under interagency review after Commerce indefinitely postponed its self-imposed deadline of June 30 for concluding the steel investigation (see 1705240034).
Fifteen senators led by Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., expressed strong support for a petition by U.S. hardwood plywood manufacturers to restrict subsidized and dumped imports of their product from China, according to an Oct. 24 letter from the senators to the International Trade Commission. Since a 2012 petition was filed against Chinese hardwood plywood imports -- which ended in an ITC “no injury” vote in November 2013 and no antidumping or countervailing duties -- imports have increased another 40 percent, the letter says. “The hardwood plywood industry has suffered additional job losses despite increasing demand for wood products, more clearly demonstrating that material injury has occurred,” the senators wrote. “During the prior case, U.S. hardwood plywood manufacturers were operating at no more than 50 percent of their production capacity. Since then, that number has decreased further." The ITC is holding a hearing in connection with its final phase of its injury investigation on Oct. 26. The ITC is accepting comments on the investigation through Nov. 27.