Recent trade-related bills introduced in Congress include:
More than 550 advocacy organizations pressed Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., to develop a negotiating authority that meets the needs of a 21st century trade environment, while rejecting the Trade Promotion Authority legislation floated in January. Wyden pledged in April to craft another version of such a measure, but has not since indicated precisely what that would include (see 14040919). “In this new model of trade authority, expedited consideration of completed agreements should only be available if and when Congress determines that its negotiating objectives have been satisfied and the executive branch has abided by requirements for increased congressional and public oversight over the entire process,” said the advocacy groups, including Public Citizen and the Sierra Club, in a letter. The groups also called for strengthened congressional influence in trade negotiations, as well as increased public transparency.
The National Association of Manufacturers and 10 other trade associations urged House and Senate leadership to “expedite” legislation to reauthorize the Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank with a “long-term” charter, while declining to mention support for or opposition to the 9-month extension included in the recently-introduced continuing resolution (see 14091001). The bank is a critical instrument to compete with other export credit agencies (ECAs) globally, said the letter, citing an argument commonly used by Ex-Im proponents. “There are more than 60 ECAs around the world, and many more that are aggressive in promoting their domestic companies and industries,” said the Sept. 10 letter. “Official ECA activity is particularly critical to key and growing manufacturing sectors of the global economy, including infrastructure and transportation where manufacturers in the United States are well positioned to grow in related exports if competitive financing is available.” Many congressional supporters of the bank, mostly Democrats, are pressing for a five-year extension at minimum in order to maintain confidence of the business community.
The House delayed floor consideration of the Continuing Appropriations Resolution 2015, H.J.Res.124 (here), until next week as members mull President Barack Obama’s Sept. 10 request for funding and authorization to train Syrian rebels pitted against a powerful Islamic insurgency in the region, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced on the House floor hours before Obama's request. The measure would extend government funding at current levels for three months, and also extend the Export-Import Bank charter through June 2015 (see 14091001). The chamber originally planned to vote on the legislation this week.
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman should reach out to the Chinese government to remove a de facto ban on U.S. dried distillers grains exports (DDGs), said a bipartisan group of Senators in a Sept. 8 letter, while urging Froman to collaborate with Chinese officials to establish a biotechnology review process that is consistent with World Trade Organization rules. China reportedly halted in June all license authorizations for the U.S. exporters, claiming the shipments contained MIR 162, a genetically modified organism not yet approved in China (here). “Every link in the DDGs supply chain -- including ethanol producers, corn farmers, and shippers -- have already incurred significant economic damages due to these actions by the Chinese government,” said the lawmakers, mostly comprised of Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee members and led by Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich. “The trade disruption in DDG is yet another example of the regulatory challenges industry has faced with China since it began blocking U.S. corn shipments in November 2013.” The U.S. exported 4 million tons of DDG to China in 2013, making China the top product destination for U.S. exporters, said the lawmakers.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is adamantly pushing for a long-term African Growth and Opportunity Act extension that provides confidence to the business community, said Assistant USTR for Africa Florie Liser at a Sept. 10 event, while declining to comment on the specific lifespan USTR is advocating. During the recent U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, African heads of state “agreed the prompt, long-term renewal of AGOA is imperative,” said Liser, at the event hosted by the Global Business Dialogue. Industry leaders have consistently over recent months called for a 15-year renewal to be passed into to law by the end of 2014 (see 14081407).
Republican leadership on the House Appropriations Committee released on Sept. 9 a stopgap funding measure to allow the federal government to continue to operate at current levels for three months, as Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year, approaches and lawmakers only have a few working days left before that date. The draft bill provides some additional measures, including an extension of the Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank charter through June 30, 2015. The House Rules Committee will hold on Sept. 10 a hearing on the Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2015, H.J. Res. 124 (here), and the bill could come to the House floor later this week.
While the Export-Import Bank fuels U.S. export increases to international markets, the credit agency’s loans impose severe U.S. downstream industry costs, among other damages to the domestic economy, said Cato trade policy analyst Daniel Ikenson in a report released on Sept. 9. In the study, Ikenson conducts cost-benefit analysis for different sectors of the business community and U.S. states. “While Ex-Im financing reduces the cost of doing business for the lucky U.S. exporter and reduces the cost of capital for his foreign customer, it hurts U.S. competitors of the U.S. exporter, as well as U.S. competitors of his foreign customer by putting them at relative cost disadvantages,” said Ikenson. “These effects are neither theoretical nor difficult to comprehend. Yet proponents of Ex-Im reauthorization rarely acknowledge, let alone concede, that these are real costs pertinent to any legitimate net benefits calculation.” Proponents of the bank are continuing to pressure Ex-Im reauthorization before its Sept. 30 expiration, but face significant opposition on Capitol Hill. The bank “artificially diverts domestic supply, possibly causing U.S. prices to rise,” said Ikenson. The U.S. manufacturing sectors most harmed by Ex-Im, Ikenson said, include electrical equipment, appliances and components, furniture, food, nonmetallic mineral products and chemicals.
The heads of two leading conservative organizations urged House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to remain resolute in his opposition to reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank. McCarthy omitted reauthorization legislation in his September legislative agenda, circulated through the House Republican caucus in recent days (see 14090814). In a Sept. 8 letter, Club for Growth President Chris Chocola and Heritage Action for America CEO Mike Needham said McCarthy should demonstrate "leadership" in ensuring the bank expires.
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., rejected a Republican push to introduce a short-term extension for the Export-Import Bank, in a Sept. 4 statement just before both chambers of Congress reconvene. Lawmakers have laid out a number of legislative proposals to extend the bank’s charter in recent months (see 14071107). House Democrats, led by Rep. Denny Heck, D-Wash., introduced in late June a bill to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank for seven years at a $5 billion annual increase, culminating in a $175 billion mandate in fiscal year 2021. Only three Democrats did not join the list of co-sponsors on the Heck bill. Forty-one Republican House members also urged in a June 23 letter to Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to pass a multi-year Ex-Im reauthorization prior to the looming Sept. 30 expiration of the credit agency’s charter (see 14062405). “There are indications that they may put forward a short-term bill instead of working with Democrats on a multi-year reauthorization that would provide greater certainty to businesses looking to sell their products overseas,” said Hoyer. “There’s little doubt that the majority of the House would support a long-term reauthorization.”