The Senate Finance Committee will consider on June 25 the nominations of Nathan Sheets as Treasury Department undersecretary for international affairs and Romin Toloui as Treasury deputy undersecretary for international finance. Sheets is the former global head of international economics at Citigroup. Toloui is the former global co-chief of emerging markets portfolio management at the Pacific Investment Management Company.
Recent trade-related bills introduced in Congress include:
The Senate Appropriations Committee postponed consideration of the fiscal year 2015 Energy and Water Development appropriations legislation, previously scheduled for June 19, said a committee spokesman. The Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development advanced the bill on June 17, and the House had passed counterpart legislation on June 10 (see 14061815). The bill would direct $5.13 billion for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge waterways to support the movement of critical commodities, along with other mandates, the committee said after its subcommittee approval.
The Senate Finance Committee will hold a June 25 hearing on the impact of trade enforcement on U.S. companies and workers, the committee announced. The committee has not yet named witnesses.
The Commerce Department should reconsider U.S. industry allegations that South Korean firms are dumping Oil Country Tubular Goods (OCTG) into the U.S. market, said more than 150 House members in a recent letter, led by Steel Caucus leaders Tim Murphy, R-Pa., and Peter Visclosky, D-Ind. The agency ruled in February to not suspend liquidation or impose an antidumping duty cash deposit requirement on South Korean OCTG, after preliminarily finding that South Korean firms did not dump the products (see 14022425).
The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development approved on June 17 fiscal year (FY) 2015 funding legislation that provides $34.2 billion in discretionary funding, an increase of $148 million above the FY14 funding level, the Appropriations Committee said. The committee has not released the text of the legislation. The bill would direct $5.13 billion for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge America’s waterways to support the movement of critical commodities, along with other mandates, said the committee. The House advanced counterpart legislation on June 10 (see 14061017). The actual appropriations for the agencies in question will likely be determined through a House and Senate conference.
MINNEAPOLIS -- The impending departure of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., from the ranks of Republican leadership is instilling uncertainty in the effort to renew the Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank prior to its looming Sept. 30 expiration date, said Rep. Erik Paulsen, R-Minn., at the American Association of Exporters and Importers (AAEI) annual conference on June 17. Cantor lost his primary bid last week, and later announced he will step down from the leadership role on July 31. Although Cantor’s ouster will not likely impact the broader trade agenda, Ex-Bank renewal is an “open question” due largely to opposition from House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas.
House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., and Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., reiterated the call to pass Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) in a June 16 statement, noting this month marks the 80th anniversary of the enactment of the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act. The legislation paved the way for modern day TPA, said the lawmakers. “I urge the administration to pull out the stops to assure passage of the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities Act of 2014, which strengthens the role of Congress in trade negotiations and gives the President the ability to negotiate the very best deals for U.S. exporters, creating good jobs that pay well,” said Camp. Camp co-sponsored the introduction of the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities Act of 2014 in January to both the applause and rejection of congressional colleagues (see 14011013).
Members of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) went to Capitol Hill on June 17 to ask lawmakers to pass a Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB), NAM said in a press release. "While the MTB enjoys broad bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress, it remains hamstrung by inside-the-beltway politics," said NAM. "Congress’s failure to act on this jobs bill couldn’t come at a worse time, as manufacturers struggle to regain their footing in a still-struggling economy." An MTB, typically passed by every congress to suspend tariffs on certain products, faces an uphill battle in this Congress due to a dispute over whether MTB violates a ban on earmarks (see 13103117). "For three decades on a bipartisan basis, Congress has approved this critical legislation, which suspends import tariffs on essential manufacturing inputs and products that are not produced in the United States," said a NAM fact sheet on the issue (here) "Unless Congress acts quickly, costs will continue to mount for manufacturers and jobs will continue to be negatively impacted."
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) Catfish Inspection Program aims to effectively rein in U.S. catfish and catfish product imports laced with illegal antibiotics and carcinogens, despite critics' assertions that the program is wasteful and duplicative, says Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., in a letter to House members urging them to reject an amendment to prevent program funding. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Mo., filed the amendment to fiscal year 2015 agriculture appropriations legislation that would strip funding for the program (see 14061105), but lawmakers have not yet debated or voted on the amendment. Over recent months, Hartzler and many other congressional colleagues have tried to prevent implementation of the program. Opponents say it will hurt catfish imports and invite trade retaliation (see 13121124).