New lobbyist registrations on trade-related issues include:
Recent trade-related bills introduced in Congress include:
U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Michael Froman should elevate Canada to the USTR Special 301 Priority Watch List this year, in response to Canada’s failure to bring its patent standards “in line” with international standards and regulations, said more than 30 lawmakers from the House of Representatives in a recent letter. Canadian courts have repeatedly violated global intellectual property agreements, including the primary World Trade Organization pact on intellectual property, by determining certain drug patents lack the “utility” necessary to be regulated, said the lawmakers.
Recent trade-related bills introduced in Congress include:
The State and Treasury Departments should impose sanctions on Russian state arms exporter Rosboronexport due to the recent Russian violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and its support for the “illegal” Crimean referendum on secession, said a bipartisan group of 38 House lawmakers in a letter to the secretaries of each department. The Defense Department should also cease payments to the arms exporter that relate to a 2013 contract to procure Mi-17 helicopters, they said. The Obama administration's Executive Order that expands the scope of sanctions should enable the imposition of sanctions on Rosboronexport, said the lawmakers (see 14030614).
Senate Finance Committee ranking member Orrin Hatch, R-Utah., expressed “concern” over whether Trans-Pacific Partnership and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership will actually come to fruition in an April 8 speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Should they conclude, Hatch also questioned whether the agreements will achieve the high-level of ambition necessary to benefit U.S. interests. U.S. trade policy is littered with failures to conclude agreements, said Hatch.
House Democrats are prioritizing timely reauthorization of the Export-Import bank charter as part of a manufacturing initiative called “Make It In America,” said House Minority Whip Stenny Hoyer, D-Md., and several other lawmakers during an April 9 press conference. Hoyer said he reached out to Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., to push reauthorization. The bank’s charter expires on Sept. 30, but some House Republicans have prevented reauthorization legislation (see 14021018).
The Commerce Department’s January decision to launch antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on crystalline silicon photovoltaic products from China and Taiwan would likely prolong the on-going solar trade dispute, said seven Senators in an April 9 letter (here) to Vice President Joe Biden. The dispute is limiting job growth in the U.S. solar industry, said the lawmakers. They urged the Obama administration to ramp up efforts to seal a long-term settlement of the solar trade dispute with China.
Recent trade-related bills introduced in Congress include:
President Barack Obama should renew the ban on imported military-style firearms fully manufactured abroad and those imported as parts, said more than 80 Democratic House lawmakers in an April 9 letter. The import ban, which expired under the George W. Bush administration, should also include newly developed AK-type pistols that incorporate the firepower of a rifle, said the letter. The lawmakers urged action from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, including the following: