The House of Representatives on Feb. 12 passed H.R. 757, the North Korea Sanctions Act of 2016 (here), by a margin of 408-2, sending the comprehensive sanctions bill to be signed by President Barack Obama. The Senate had passed the bill unanimously on Feb. 10. The legislation would require Obama to regularly brief Congress on implementation efforts and to sanction and block the assets of the Foreign Trade Bank of North Korea and the Daedong Credit Bank. Sanction designations will include individuals who have engaged in trading or attempting to trade any significant arms or luxury goods with Pyongyang, as well as money launderers, counterfeiters, cash smugglers, narcotics traffickers, or other “illicit activity” that “involves or supports the government of North Korea or any other senior government official.” Furthermore, the bill would punish Chinese companies that import or export graphite, aluminum, steel, coal or software to North Korea. The Senate voted 96-0 to pass the legislation.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Feb. 11 filed cloture on the nomination of Robert Califf to be commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, after Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, lifted her hold on the nominee, she said. Murkowski said she received assurances from FDA that it is “taking this matter seriously,” she said in a statement (here). Murkowski said she would block his nomination in November after the FDA’s approval of genetically engineered salmon, or “Frankenfish,” for human consumption (see 1602010018).
Lawmakers recently introduced the following trade-related bills:
Lawmakers recently introduced the following trade-related bills:
The Senate should move forward to pass long-delayed customs reauthorization legislation that would "support the ability of small Internet-enabled retailers to successfully export across the globe," eBay said on Feb. 8 (here). The bill, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (HR-644), would make some much needed changes to outdated customs laws, the company said. "For example, this legislation will boost the threshold under which buyers and sellers submit paperwork and pay duties on low-value shipments to the US from $200 to $800, while also encouraging trading partner nations to do the same. In addition, the bill would allow U.S. sellers to accept retail returns, which is a key offering that appeals to overseas customers and increases buyer satisfaction. Currently, U.S. small businesses must pay duty when accepting a returned item from an international customer." Senate consideration of the bill is expected as early as Feb. 10 (see 1602050015).
Open-source information, bills of lading, documentation of intermediate container movements, and manifest records of U.S. imports and exports should be used by the federal government to hunt entities that engage in trade-based money laundering, former CBP special agent Louis Bock told congressional lawmakers on Feb. 3. The congressional Task Force to Investigate Terrorism Financing hosted the hearing to examine potential solutions for trade-based money laundering, a common tactic used by groups like ISIS and Hezbollah to disguise how they make their money.
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, praised the Food and Drug Administration’s temporary ban on imports of genetically engineered (GE) salmon, but is continuing her hold on the confirmation of Dr. Robert Califf to serve as FDA commissioner, Murkowski's office said. Murkowski is one of three senators that are holding up confirmation.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Jan. 28 cleared the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enforcement Act of 2016, which mandates the President to investigate sanctionable conduct, the committee said. (here). Sponsored by Sens. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., and Bob Menendez, D-N.J., the bill would also require the State Department to expand the scope and frequency of travel warnings for North Korea, and require the Treasury Secretary to determine whether North Korea is a money laundering concern. If an affirmative determination is made, assets must then be blocked and “special measures” applied against designated persons. “Complementing legislation in the House, this bipartisan bill will tighten the web of sanctions as part of an overall policy to denuclearize North Korea and promote human rights within the country,” said Committee Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn. The bill now goes to the full Senate for further consideration.
Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., tied what he hopes is a pending Senate vote on the conference version of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (HR-644) to congressional approval of the Obama administration’s Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. “I hope we get that voted on in this work period,” said Thune, third-ranking Republican in leadership and chairman of the Commerce Committee, of the customs trade bill when speaking to reporters Jan. 28. “Right now I think it’s just a function of making sure the votes are there on both sides.” He said “both sides are kind of working it” in recent weeks. This work period concludes with the Presidents Day recess, the week of Feb. 16. The customs conference report includes the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act language, a priority for Thune, who said earlier in January that he expected ITFA backers to override any point of order raised in an attempt to strip the ITFA provision from the trade bill and that he expected a vote soon on the measure (see 1601130011). Some in the Senate would prefer to see the ITFA language advance with the Marketplace Fairness Act rather than alone with the customs trade bill. “On ITFA, the Democrats here are trying to hold that up over MFA, but I think, you know, those are two very separate issues,” Thune said. "I’ve had conversations with Democrats in the Senate, obviously had some conversations with the White House too about getting them more engaged, but I think the message is we need customs in order to get TPP moving.” If there will be “any kind of vote on TPP,” the customs bill must move because without its enforcement pieces in place, “the pro-trade Democrats won’t vote for it," Thune predicted.
Lawmakers voiced their reactions on Jan. 26 to the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s announcement the same day that implemented the rollback of sanctions on Cuba, as the Obama Administration continues its push to normalize relations with Havana. Presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., accused the Administration of working to empower Cuban government-run businesses rather than the Cuban citizenry. “The Obama Administration's one-sided concessions to Cuba further empower the regime and enable it with an economic windfall,” Rubio said in a statement (here). “These regulations are more proof that the Obama Administration's intent has never been to empower the Cuban people but rather to empower the Cuban government's monopolies and state-run enterprises.”