Eight tech associations sent a letter to congressional leaders on Feb. 12, calling for passage of Trade Promotion Authority. Signing the letter were the Consumer Electronics Association, BSA/The Software Alliance, the Computer & Communications Industry Association, the Information Technology Industry Council, the Internet Association, the Semiconductor Industry Association, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and TechNet. “We need a gold standard framework for global trade that is reflective of today’s digital economy and the growing importance of the technology and Internet sectors,” they said. That requires TPA’s passage, they added.
All World Intellectual Property Organization members should have an equal voice in amending the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin, said a Thursday letter to WIPO Director General Francis Gurry. The letter was sent by bipartisan leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary committees, Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee. “The Lisbon Agreement is a WIPO-administered treaty that allows parties to the agreement to simultaneously register Appellations of Origin with all parties to the agreement,” a separate joint release said. “The proposed changes would substantially expand the scope of the Lisbon Agreement to allow for registration of Geographical Indications (GI’s) and could threaten market access for many common products, such as feta cheese, around the world,” it said. “Given that only 28 of the 188 WIPO members are parties to the Lisbon Agreement, lawmakers in Congress are concerned that departing from WIPO’s longstanding practice to allow this limited group of WIPO Members to amend the Agreement could result in unwanted changes that would ultimately harm workers and businesses in the United States and around the world.” WIPO didn’t comment.
Foreign currency manipulation is harming U.S. competitiveness and limiting export growth, but legislation introduced on Capitol Hill in recent days to confront manipulation through countervailing duties is “unproductive,” said the House Ways and Means Committee Republicans, led by chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., in a Feb. 12 briefing on the issue (here). Both the House and Senate introduced bipartisan bills on Feb. 10 designed to hit back against currency manipulation through hiking CVD duties on U.S. imports (see 1502120014).
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas, introduced identical bills in both Houses of Congress on Feb. 12 to boost CBP officer levels and infrastructure at U.S. ports of entry and border regions. The Emergency Port of Entry Personnel and Infrastructure Funding Act of 2015, S-458 in the Senate and HR-883 in the House, calls for 5,000 more CBP officers at the border by the end of fiscal year 2020 to “serve on all inspection lanes.” The legislation authorizes 350 additional employees on top of that to “support staff” at ports of entry. Infrastructure improvements are also a central focus of the bill. The CBP commissioner would be allowed to prioritize particular projects to expedite commercial flow and strengthen safety measures, the bill says. The legislation, which also calls for reports to Congress on a number of issues revolving around the boosted staff figures, would authorize consultations between cabinet officials on where to build new ports, as well.
A bipartisan group of senators renewed a long-standing effort to reform the U.S. sugar program with the reintroduction of legislation on Feb. 12. The Sugar Reform Act of 2015 would overhaul domestic supply and price management. Sens. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., led the bill’s introduction, along with 14 co-sponsors. Sugar is one of the most protected U.S. industries, and trade partners have urged the U.S. to lift industry restrictions often in the past (see 14100601).
The Department of Homeland Security’s funding beyond Feb. 27 remains in question, as the Senate cast its last vote on Feb. 12 and left the Capitol for an 11-day recess. The House is polishing off legislative business on Feb. 13 before also departing. Once both chambers reconvene on Feb. 23, lawmakers will have only five days to act to avert a DHS shutdown.
Lawmakers introduced the following trade-related bills since International Trade Today's last legislative update:
Sens. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, led a bipartisan group of ten senators in introducing a bill on Feb. 10 to combat the impacts of foreign currency manipulation on U.S. industry. The Currency Undervaluation Investigation Act surfaced the same day House members introduced similar currency legislation (see 1502110021),
The House Ways and Means Committee touted conservative support for the U.S. trade agenda in a blog post on Feb. 10 (here). A number of prominent conservatives, such as leaders at the Club for Growth and the Heritage Foundation, have recently spoken in favor of Trade Promotion Authority and pending free trade agreements, said the committee, citing a news report and public comments. Some far-right Republicans reject TPA, but lawmakers and industry representatives say those critics aren’t a threat (see 1501150044). Republican leadership in both chambers have pledged to pass both TPA and FTA implementation bills. Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has repeatedly signaled TPA support since taking over the committee (see 1502050019). Many House Democrats, however, continue to assail the trade agenda, though Democrats in the Senate are taking a more measured tone.
A bipartisan group of House members introduced legislation on Feb. 10 to allow the Commerce Department to level countervailing duties on foreign imports to counteract currency manipulation impacts on U.S. industry. House Ways and Means ranking member Sandy Levin, D-Mich., as well as Reps. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, Mo Brooks, R-Ala., and Tim Murphy, R-Pa., introduced the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act (here) to the applause of a number of other lawmakers.