Three Senate Democrats in a June 26 letter (here) requested an update from Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on how his department is addressing non-organic food imports fraudulently sold to U.S. consumers as “USDA-certified organic.” Senate Agriculture Committee ranking member Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, and Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California and Patrick Leahy of Vermont, requested that the office of the USDA inspector general work with National Organic Program (NOP) enforcement to examine imports and identify any corrective actions. Recent press reports (see 1705150031) "detailing cases where non-organic products, particularly corn and other grains, were exported to the United States and illegally sold as organic are very troubling,” the senators said. “Organic farmers in the United States cannot be expected to compete against fraudulent organic imports, and American consumers have the right to expect that products sold as organic meet the criteria for use of the organic label as required by law.”
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., will withhold consent for arms sales to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states until getting a clearer understanding of the path to resolving the current boycott of Qatar by other GCC countries and Egypt, he said in a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (here). Egypt and GCC members Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain imposed a boycott on Qatar three weeks ago, accusing the Qatari government of backing terrorism. The boycotting Gulf nations have since transmitted to Qatar through Kuwaiti mediators a list of 13 demands to address before they lift the blockade, including closing Al-Jazeera news network, reducing cooperation with Iran, and removing Turkish troops from Qatari soil. Major U.S. arms sales are subject to preliminary approval by the chairman and ranking member of both the Senate and House foreign relations committees before the statutory 30-day congressional review process starts.
Smithsonian Institution research associate Brian Daniels suggested during a June 23 House hearing that public officials do more to stem the commercial flows of cultural property originating in Afghanistan, Nigeria and South Sudan, after legislation was enacted in May 2016 to prevent trafficking of cultural goods originating in Syria (see 1605090026). Afghanistan, Nigeria and South Sudan all experience looting of antiquities, which have a “potential to enter the flow of commerce,” Daniels said during a House Financial Services Terrorism and Illicit Finance hearing. “I recently returned after a prolonged trip to Europe speaking to law enforcement, and after my conversations in those meetings, I am, at this point, almost more concerned about the nexus between looting and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, than I am about Daesh in Syria and Iraq. But there is no protection, there are no import restrictions for Afghanistan.”
Ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s June 26 trip to the White House, the top Republican and Democrat on both congressional trade committees in a letter urged President Donald Trump to prioritize the elimination of Indian trade barriers, including “burdensome import and customs procedures.” High tariffs, inadequate intellectual property rights protection, inconsistent and opaque licensing and regulatory practices are among the issues cited by the lawmakers in the June 23 letter (here). India imposes “especially” high tariffs on agricultural products, which has led to smuggling of U.S. goods like almonds through third countries to avoid high customs duties, the lawmakers said. Furthermore, India recently raised tariffs on medical devices and information technology products, in contravention of its commitments under the World Trade Organization Information Technology Agreement, they said. India imposes forced localization measures on solar and IT products as well as “duplicative” in-country security testing requirements for telecommunications equipment, the letter says.
The Small Business Association (SBA) Office of Small Business Development Centers will during NAFTA renegotiations push for simple, clear customs rules and provisions dictating publication of rulings and regulations before export, SBA Office of International Trade (OIT) Associate Administrator Peter Cazamias told the House Small Business Committee June 21. “We will have to press for ensuring that our trade partners publish all regulations and administrative rulings beforehand, so that businesses have fair notice … to read those to ensure intellectual protection for all of our -- especially -- high-tech-type companies that put their data secrets at risk when they trade,” he said. That SBA office will have a seat at the negotiating table, where it will discuss solutions for general trade hindrances for small businesses, such as unnecessary customs complexity, unfair intellectual property rights protection and overly complex rules, Cazamias said.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, expressed his desire for renewal of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and quick movement of the miscellaneous tariff bill (MTB), according to his opening statement at a June 22 committee hearing (here). “We plan to renew GSP and move quickly on our Miscellaneous Tariff Bill to help U.S. exporters,” he said. Trade group executives recently said they were pondering whether both pieces of legislation could move forward together (see 1706200050). According to the timeline laid out in the American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act of 2016, Congress could consider MTB legislation Nov. 6 or sooner.
Twelve Democrats from the House and Senate are calling for the Trump administration to give stakeholders the opportunity to provide feedback on the Commerce Department’s ongoing Section 232 investigations on steel and aluminum imports, according to a June 20 letter they sent to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer (here). The lawmakers also requested that the administration fully consult with Congress on its considered approach before a decision is made. “Given the significant implications these proceedings could have for jobs and economic growth across the country, it is particularly essential that the Administration provide full transparency and due process when conducting these investigations,” the lawmakers wrote. “While swift relief is vital, it need not come at the expense of due process.” If the reviews find metal imports endanger U.S. national security, the Trump administration could impose tariffs, quotas or other import restraints.
Lawmakers recently introduced the following trade-related bill:
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, urged the European Parliament to ensure that legislation continues to deem China a “non-market economy” for antidumping duty purposes, in a June 19 letter (here). In the correspondence to European Parliament International Trade Committee Chairman Bernd Lange and committee Rapporteur Salvatore Cicu, Brown also said any changes to EU law should put the burden of proof on exporting producers in non-market economies to justify the use of individual costs in AD cases. Requiring petitioning producers to justify non-market economy AD methodologies would weaken trade remedy laws, Brown said. “Perhaps most important,” Brown wrote, the EU and U.S. should make joint submissions in the non-market economy World Trade Organization cases brought by China, as a combined effort would ensure “no daylight between the EU and U.S. positions.”
CBP Acting Commissioner Kevin McAleenan met with Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, on June 20 to discuss how CBP can help keep illegal fentanyl and other synthetic opioids out of Ohio, Brown’s office said in a press release (here). Brown discussed his INTERDICT Act, which would provide more portable chemical screening devices at ports of entry and mail and express consignment facilities and additional fixed chemical screening devices available in CBP laboratories. The bill also would provide CBP with resources, personnel and facilities to interpret screening test results from the field. “Customs agents have a key role to play in our efforts to keep opioids out of the United States, and they need our support,” Brown said in a statement. “It’s important to ensure that law enforcement have every tool at their disposal to keep deadly drugs like fentanyl out of Ohio communities, safely and effectively."