House Ways and Means Chairman, R-Wis., and other members of the congressional trade delegation trip to Asia, met with high-ranking Japanese officials, including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, on Feb. 18-19 to add support for a final Trans-Pacific Partnership deal, the committee said. The eight lawmakers left Washington for a tour of TPP countries in Asia one week ago, and Japan will be the final stop (see 1502180023). The delegation also met with U.S. and Japanese industry leaders, the committee said. Ryan, who said recently Japan should leave TPP talks if it's not willing to put more on the table (see 1502050019), and the other lawmakers urged Japanese trade chief Akira Amari to concede more market access in TPP negotiations, the committee said.
The Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees have not yet reached an agreement on Trade Promotion Authority "or other aspects of the legislative trade agenda more broadly," said a spokesman for Finance ranking member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., on Feb. 20, in response to Finance Committee announcement on an upcoming trade hearing. Senate Finance Committee majority staff, led by Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, scheduled a Feb. 28 hearing on U.S. tariff policy (here). The committee hasn’t yet announced the witnesses. Wyden immediately rejected the hearing, saying its “premature.” “Sen. Wyden is continuing to fight for more transparency, more oversight and provisions to ensure American workers come first in our trade policy,” said Wyden's spokesman.
Lawmakers introduced the following trade-related bill since International Trade Today's last legislative update:
The Brunei and Malaysian governments continue to sponsor gross human rights violations, including persecution of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals, and the Obama administration should remove those countries from Trans-Pacific Partnership talks unless the two countries “address” those issues, said five members of the House LGBT caucus in a Feb. 18 letter to President Barack Obama (here). House members Mark Pocan, D-Wis., Mark Takano, D-Calif., D-R.I., Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y., and Krysten Sinema, D-Ariz., signed the letter.
Malaysia needs to make several concessions in order to meet U.S. expectations in a final Trans-Pacific Partnership pact, said House Ways and Means Republicans on Feb. 18, after Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and a congressional delegation met with Malaysian officials on the second leg of an ongoing TPP tour (here). Ryan and the delegation, which consists of one Democrat and six additional Republican lawmakers on the committee, left Washington on Feb. 13 for an initial stop in Singapore (see 1502150003). Malaysia is still falling short in strengthening its standards for state-owned enterprises, market access, intellectual property, and labor, said the statement. Ryan told Malaysian officials he expects Trade Promotion Authority to pass the U.S. Congress soon, added the statement. TPA is widely viewed as essential to passing TPP implementation legislation.
Lawmakers introduced the following trade-related bills since International Trade Today's last legislative update:
Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., introduced legislation in recent days to lift the U.S. embargo on Cuba and expand U.S. export opportunities in the country. The bill would repeal the Helms-Burton Act, and slash restrictions to U.S.-Cuban transactions and shipping, Klobuchar said in a statement (here). House members introduced the same legislation in mid-February (see 1501160009). Another sponsor of the measure, Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., praised the bill for opening up the Cuban market for U.S. agriculture and other goods. "After more than 50 years of stalemate, it’s time for a new policy on Cuba,” she said. “By laying the groundwork for normal commercial relations, we can begin to provide greater access to the Cuban people to American products and more democratic ideas.”
The Express Association of America applauded recently introduced legislation to raise the de minimis level for U.S. commercial imports to $800, in a Feb. 13 press release. Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., introduced the Low Value Shipment Regulatory Modernization Act, S-489, on Feb. 12 (see 1502120074). Reps. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., and Joe Crowley, D-N.Y., led the bill’s introduction in the House as well.
House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., led a congressional delegation to meet with high-ranking trade and economic officials in Singapore on Feb. 16, his office said (here). The lawmakers pressed the significance of TPP intellectual property protections, state-owned enterprise rules and strong market access opportunities for U.S. producers, said the statement. Congress is committed to improving trade relations with Singapore and other Southeast Asian nations, the statement added.
The Senate proposal to revamp the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill submission process is a step in the right direction, but House lawmakers are still considering ways to make more improvements to the MTB process while staying “faithful to the earmarks ban,” said House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., in comments to reporters on Feb. 13. Ryan renewed his support for the MTB bill as a whole, and said lawmakers are searching for a resolution to bring the tariff suspension program back on line.