Congress will not approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership by the end of the Obama Presidency, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., told U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom, and other attendees of a March 18 seminar hosted by the German Marshall Fund’s Brussels Forum. Sessions said U.S. job and wage prospects under TPP are “worrying” Americans, making it more difficult to pass the agreement, and added that Brunei and Vietnam shouldn’t get the same vote proportion as the U.S. under the pact.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is crafting bipartisan legislation to extend the Iran Sanctions Act in response to Tehran's launch of several ballistic missiles, according to a committee press release (here). “Recent events in Iran underscore the need for a statutory framework to respond to Iran’s ballistic missile tests,” Ranking Member Ben Cardin, D-Md., said in a statement. “Responding to Iran’s provocations is consistent with our JCPOA obligations.” The sanctions would target financial institutions and will continue to apply to people who provide Iran with “specified weapons,” dual-use goods, and related technologies. “Iran remains a bipartisan concern and we are committed to taking action to ensure that Iran does not become a threshold nuclear weapons state,” said Cardin and committee Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn. Cardin also highlighted S. 2119, the Iran Policy Oversight Act, he introduced on Oct. 1, which would help to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear-weapon state, to strengthen U.S. “resolve” against Tehran’s ballistic missile program, and “other nefarious actions,” he said.
Lawmakers recently introduced the following trade-related bills:
The Senate on March 16 voted 49-48 to strike down a motion for a cloture vote on Sen. Pat Roberts’, R-Kan., Biotechnology Labeling Solutions Bill, which would have established a national voluntary bioengineered food labeling standard and supersede applicable state laws, according to a summary of the bill (here). The legislation itself (here) would also direct the Agriculture Department to provide the public with science-based education, outreach, and promotion, alongside other federal agencies, regarding bioengineered food.
Less restrictive U.S. policies and further normalization of trade relations with Cuba would likely lead to a boost to U.S. agricultural trade, said a trade expert, a Texas rice farmer, as well as most GOP members at a House hearing on March 15. During a hearing of the House Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Trade (here), supporters of loosening existing restrictions on trade with Cuba said a more relaxed bilateral policy would help boost U.S. agricultural exports to the country, which tumbled from a peak of $709 million in 2008 to $149 million last year. Jason Marczak, director of the Atlantic Council’s Latin America Economic Growth Initiative, along with Texas rice farmer and U.S. Rice Producers Association board member Ray Stoesser, encouraged subcommittee members to advance legislation that is hoped to stimulate the waning competition of U.S. agricultural exports in the Cuban marketplace. According to Stoesser’s submitted testimony (here), U.S. exports occupied 10 percent of all Cuban rice market share in 2015, and were topped by the market shares of rice imported from the EU, Brazil, and Argentina.
U.S. shippers are already in compliance with amendments to the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention which will require shippers to provide the verified gross mass (VGM) of containers prior to being loaded onto carrier ships, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft said during a March 15 budget hearing of the House Transportation Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee (here). “What’s needed is a final weight,” Zukunft said. “By and large, most [cargo] manifests already have that weight built in.” Direct stakeholders, including shippers, carriers, marine terminal operators, the Federal Maritime Commission, and the Coast Guard implementing body, have over the past month discussed how to implement the VGM requirement set to take effect July 1. Rep. Dave Rouzer, R-N.C., first raised the issue during the hearing and asked Zukunft to address shipper concerns and “conflicting statements” made by the Coast Guard regarding VGM implementation.
The General Services Administration removed 11 companies from the GSA Advantage website, after Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in January (see 1601250033) called attention to the listing of several foreign products as “Made-in-America,” Schumer said in a statement (here). GSA Advantage is an online government purchasing service that allows federal agencies and many state and local governments to buy products from different suppliers. Schumer pledged to remain engaged with GSA to “weed out” any currently unknown or future false labelers. GSA didn’t comment.
Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La., is leading an effort alongside 121 of his House colleagues to urge the House Appropriations Committee to maintain the current funding level of $1.3 billion for the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) in its fiscal 2017 Energy and Water Appropriations bill. In a letter (here) to the leaders on the House Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee and House Appropriations Committee, the lawmakers say that the White House’s budget request estimates fiscal 2016 HMTF revenue at about $1.7 billion, which is $225 million less than anticipated.
More work needs to be done to reach consensus on how shippers and carriers must carry out amendments to the Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS), which will on July 1 require that shippers provide a verified gross mass (VGM) on bills of lading for international ocean-bound cargo, Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Mario Cordero told senators during a March 8 hearing. In prepared remarks (here) for the hearing of the Senate Commerce, Transportation & Science Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Cordero reiterated that the Coast Guard is the lead agency on the matter, but noted that FMC will monitor implementation of the VGM requirement should it need to intervene pursuant to “relevant applicable portions of the Shipping Act.” The Coast Guard recently said it lacks the regulatory authority to enforce the coming container weight requirements (see 1603030014).
The EU should not grant China market economy status in antidumping duty cases, as it “would not reflect current economic reality” and would undermine U.S. workers who fight unfair trade from China, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., told EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom on March 10 (here). “It is critical that the United States and Europe continue to stand together for strong trade enforcement,” he said after the discussion. China on March 10 asked the EU to drop its opposition to granting it market economy status, according to a report by Chinese state-run Xinhua News Agency (here).