The Senate on May 9 confirmed Scott Gottlieb to serve as FDA commissioner. The Senate Health Committee cleared Gottlieb for floor consideration on April 27 (see 1704280013). House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., and House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Chairman Michael Burgess, R-Texas, cheered the confirmation, in a statement (here) citing its importance as Congress works to reauthorize FDA’s user fees.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on May 9 filed cloture on the nomination of Robert Lighthizer to serve as U.S. trade representative, limiting debate prior to a floor vote on Lighthizer’s confirmation. The Senate was amid debate at the time of International Trade Today's publication. The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) on May 10 added its name to the list of business groups calling for Lighthizer to be confirmed. AIA CEO David Melcher in a statement (here) said Lighthizer’s experience as deputy trade representative in the Reagan administration negotiating bilateral trade agreements will “be of remarkable benefit” to the U.S. and the aerospace and defense industries as AIA hopes to expand U.S. efforts and enforce international trading obligations.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on May 6 approved the nomination of Terry Branstad to serve as U.S. ambassador to China, after the committee conducted his confirmation hearing on May 2 (see 1705030006).
A renegotiated NAFTA should include enforceable provisions covering fundamental labor rights outlined in the 1998 International Labor Organization (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, Rep. Sandy Levin, D-Mich., said in an opinion piece for The Hill (here). The “May 10 Agreement” written by House Democrats and agreed to by former President George W. Bush sets forth that parties in U.S. trade agreements should recognize the ILO Declaration’s fundamental rights, which are freedom of association, collective bargaining rights, elimination of forced and child labor, and elimination of employment and occupational discrimination. Levin pushed for the Trans-Pacific Partnership to adopt the terms of the May 10 Agreement (see 1503190001).
Six congressional Republicans in a letter urged Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to open his country to U.S. beef imports, which China has blocked since 2003, the office of Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, announced May 8 (here). After an April trip to China, the lawmakers wrote Li a letter on May 4 stating they felt encouraged after the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture’s September announcement that China would remove its ban on U.S. beef. But the lawmakers, including Portman, Sen. Steve Daines of Montana and Rep. Chris Stewart of Utah, said “technical issues” to removing the ban still remain, and noted that Li said during their visit that the then-absence of a U.S. agriculture secretary was a major impediment to following through on China’s announcement. The lawmakers called for Li and China’s relevant agencies to prioritize opening the country’s market to U.S. beef as the Senate in late April confirmed Sonny Perdue to serve as agriculture secretary (see 1704250004).
Sixty-one business groups told senators in a letter (here) they should vote for confirmation of Robert Lighthizer to serve as U.S. trade representative, saying the nominee has government and private-sector experience in working to stop unfair trade practices and open overseas markets. The Senate is likely to consider Lighthizer for confirmation this week (see 1705050031), after the body votes on whether to confirm Scott Gottlieb to serve as FDA commissioner, expected May 9. The associations said Lighthizer’s quick confirmation would help strengthen the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing. “Manufacturers in the United States need better access to growing global markets overseas where hundreds of millions of consumers have joined the middle class in the last decade,” the groups said. “At the same time, growing foreign market-distorting practices and unfair trade practices are on the rise requiring strong trade enforcement consistent with the international trade rules to create a level playing field for manufacturers in the United States.” Groups that signed the letter include the American Apparel & Footwear Association, the National Association of Manufacturers, the American Iron and Steel Institute, and the Society of Chemical Manufacturers & Affiliates.
Lawmakers recently introduced the following trade-related bills:
The Senate plans to vote on President Donald Trump’s nomination of Robert Lighthizer to serve as U.S. trade representative next week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on the Senate floor May 4 just before his chamber adjourned. The Senate also plans to vote on Scott Gottlieb, Trump’s nominee for FDA commissioner, in the next few days, McConnell said. The Senate will vote on "cloture on the nomination of Scott Gottlieb to head the FDA, and then we plan to move on to U.S. Trade Representative [nominee] Robert Lighthizer as well,” McConnell said.
The leaders of the Senate Homeland Security Committee in a May 4 letter (here) requested information from the Department of Homeland Security regarding a skyrocketing number of recent assaults reported by CBP on its law enforcement personnel, including CBP officers. Assaults against CBP law enforcement have “increased substantially” between fiscal year 2016 and fiscal year 2017, committee Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and ranking member Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said in the letter to DHS Inspector General John Roth, which also was copied to DHS Secretary John Kelly. The senators asked for Roth to review the number of assaults against all CBP law enforcement personnel and actions that DHS has taken to mitigate threats in the field.
The House passed H.R. 1644, the Korean Interdiction and Modernization of Sanctions Act, on May 4, sending the bill to the Senate. The legislation would cut off North Korea’s access to ports and impose third-party sanctions on financial institutions that still do business with the nation, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif., the bill’s sponsor, said during a Fox News interview (here).