More than 200 members of Congress signed onto a letter asking President Obama to include currency manipulation provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, to help bolster ongoing currency undervaluation efforts and respond to the “trade-distorting” manipulative policies that hurt the global economy. The June 6 letter, signed by 230 lawmakers, said that including currency provisions “will also raise the TPP to the 21st century agreement standard set by the Administration.” The lawmakers also said undervalued exchange rates contribute to trade imbalances -- allowing other countries to boost their exports while impeding U.S. exports -- and market access limitations. This is not a new topic in Congress: A bipartisan group of Senators reintroduced a currency manipulation bill June 5 (see 13060606). House members introduced a similar bill in March (see 13032129). Read the June 6 letter (here).
It's important that the U.S. be a “vigorous competitor in the Trans-Pacific” and show China that free trade is a “better course to prosperity,” said Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., at a June 5 event held by the Emergency Committee for American Trade (ECAT), a business organization for the facilitation of economic growth and international trade. Blunt and Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, both acknowledged concerns regarding trans-Pacific relations and the need to dispel distrust.
Mike Froman, President Obama's nominee for U.S. Trade Representative, will work with Congress toward renewing Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), Froman said during the June 6 nomination hearing before the Senate Finance Committee. President Obama himself is also asking for TPA to be renewed, said Froman. Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Ranking Member Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, both said they will support Froman's nomination, though Hatch had harsh words about an off-shore investment account of Froman's, saying it represents the "hypocrisy" of the Obama administration in light of the President's rhetoric against such accounts. Several lawmakers have expressed eagerness to see TPA authority renewed (see 13031902).
A bipartisan group of Senators reintroduced a currency exchange rate oversight bill June 5, which would include a requirement for the Commerce Department to extend countervailing duty investigations to undervalued currency and would broaden the Department’s export subsidy investigation requirements. The Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Reform Act passed the Senate in 2011, and mirrors components of a currency manipulator bill introduced in the House in March (see 13032129). The bill is designed to use “U.S. trade law to counter the economic harm to U.S. manufacturers caused by currency manipulation,” according to a summary of the bill from Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, one of the bill’s sponsors.
The House of Representatives approved the 2014 Homeland Security Appropriations bill on June 6, despite a White House veto threat (see 13060422). The Obama administration said it objects to the “draconian” cuts in the bill, and the lack of an “overall budget framework” for the appropriations debate. House lawmakers approved amendments prohibiting CBP from paying for an Abu Dhabi customs clearance facility and reducing “Automation Modernization” funding during June 5 floor debate.
Recent trade-related bills introduced in Congress, as of May 29, include:
New lobbyist registrations on trade issues as of May 29 include:
Despite progress on restricting Iran’s economy -- implementing expansive sanctions, enforcing export controls, targeting the country’s oil and shipping sectors -- Iran and its progressing nuclear program remain a national security threat, and the U.S. must continue the sanctions pressure, federal officials and lawmakers said at a Senate Banking Committee hearing June 4.
The discovery of genetically engineered (GE) wheat in Oregon could put as much as $500 million in Oregon wheat exports in danger, and federal agencies should ensure the Department of Agriculture’s investigation into the GE wheat does not damage U.S. trading relationships, Oregon’s Democratic Senator, Ron Wyden, said in a May 30 letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced discovery of the GE wheat May 29, after being notified of its presence by an Oregon State University scientist. No GE wheat varieties are approved for sale, or in commercial production, in the U.S. The variety APHIS found indicates the presence of the same specific variety that agriculture biotech company Monsanto was authorized to field test in 16 states from 1998 to 2005, APHIS said (here). After the announcement about the GE wheat, the European Union said it will test all U.S. wheat imports. Japan also cancelled an order for U.S. wheat.
The Senate Finance Committee will hold a nomination hearing for President Obama's U.S. Trade Representative nominee June 6, Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., announced May 30. The Thursday hearing for nominee Mike Froman will be 10 a.m. EDT in Room 215 of the Dirksen Senate Office building. For more on Froman's background see 13050221.