Lawmakers introduced the following trade-related bills since International Trade Today's last legislative update:
The House is set to consider the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015, HR-1599, in the coming days, said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy in his weekly schedule (here). McCarthy slated a vote on that legislation for July 23-24. The legislation, which passed out of committee with strong bipartisan support on July 14, would create “national, enforceable standards” for labeling food produced with genetically engineered plants, including imports (see 1507150014).
One hundred and sixty House lawmakers, led by influential Democrats in the chamber, urged Secretary of State John Kerry on July 17 to stay impartial in determining whether to upgrade Malaysia in State’s 2015 Trafficking in Persons report. Many Democrats on Capitol Hill and human rights activists have lashed into reports that State aims to move Malaysia from Tier 3 to Tier 2 on its trafficking scale (see 1507090050).
The Finance Committee will hold a hearing on July 23 to consider the nomination of Marisa Lago for deputy U.S. trade representative. Lago is currently the assistant secretary for international markets and development at the Treasury Department. If confirmed by the committee and the full Senate, Lago would join Robert Holleyman and Michael Punke as deputies. Wendy Cutler, acting deputy USTR, would step down from that role if Lago is confirmed, said a USTR spokesman.
Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., pledged on July 16 to push forward with his bill to give state governors more authority to intervene in labor contract crises at U.S. ports. The months of West Coast port shutdowns and slowdowns from 2014 to early 2015 illustrates the need to act quickly to avert another crisis, said Gardner in an interview. “We actually know that our first quarter of this year we saw a downtick in our GDP because of the port slowdown,” Gardner said. “We can do better and we’ll continue to push that bill.”
Lawmakers introduced the following trade-related bills since International Trade Today's last legislative update:
The AFL-CIO spelled out union priorities for a Trans-Pacific Partnership in recent letters to lawmakers in both chambers that voted in favor of Trade Promotion Authority. The TPP is “designed to be infinitely expandable” and therefore “demands a dramatically different approach to trade," said the letters. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said Thailand, Burma and China may be considered as additions to the pact. Many trade supporters have viewed TPA as necessary to lock down TPP.
House lawmakers introduced their own legislation focused on exporting telecom services and equipment to Cuba, similar to a Senate bill already introduced. HR-3055 would “authorize the exportation of consumer communication devices to Cuba and the provision of telecommunications services to Cuba,” as its title said. Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., introduced the bill, also backed by Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt. It was referred to the Commerce and Foreign Affairs committees.
The Senate Commerce Committee approved the Port Performance Act as part of a broader transportation bill on July 15. Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., merged the port bill into the Comprehensive Transportation and Consumer Protection Act of 2015, S-1732, before the July 15 committee markup. The broader bill passed 13-11 along party lines.
A group of Senators hit back on July 15 at reports that the State Department may upgrade Malaysia to Tier 2 in its annual Trafficking in Persons Report. State cited evidence of pervasive human trafficking in Malaysia in the 2014 report (here). “It is difficult to fathom how the State Department could justify upgrading Malaysia given that the country failed to address the problem in the year leading up to the June 1, 2015 statutory deadline for the TIP report’s publication,” said the letter (here), led by Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and signed by 18 additional lawmakers, mostly Democrats. Menendez spearheaded efforts to include language in Trade Promotion Authority to ban expedited consideration of free trade agreement implementation legislation with Tier 3 countries (see 1504270008). “Sadly, the report is already more than five weeks overdue; it is on pace to be the latest report ever released,” said the letter. “An unwarranted upgrade for Malaysia in the 2015 report, especially if based on actions undertaken after the closing of the 2015 reporting period, would weaken the credibility of our TIP ranking system.” Lawmakers planned to add language in Customs Reauthorization conference to supersede the TPA trafficking (see 1507070066). Reuters first reported several days ago on the expected upgrade (see 1507090050).