A new Senate bill would require the U.S. to place additional sanctions on foreign banks in an attempt to block Iran’s access to foreign exchange reserves and limit the ability of certain Iran entities to conduct transactions in foreign currencies. The Iran Sanctions Loophole Elimination Act, introduced May 8, would place sanctions on foreign banks that knowingly facilitate transactions in non-local currency for the Central Bank of Iran, or any other entity within blacklisted Iranian sectors. The legislation makes such sanctions effective May 9 -- meaning the sanctions would be retroactive. The bill could be attached to Iran sanctions legislation in the House later this month.
The unprecedented opportunities for U.S. businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa will only be realized if the federal government crafts a more coordinated export strategy, increases investment in the region and agrees to take on the risks associated in working in such a frontier economy, a group of experts told the House Foreign Affairs Africa Subcommittee May 7.
The Obama Administration cautioned the Senate against passing a water resources bill, calling the bill’s project permitting provisions “counterproductive,” and not adequate in protecting “communities, taxpayers, or the environment. The bill constrains science-based decision making, increases litigation risk, and undermines the integrity of several foundational environmental laws,” said the May 6 statement of policy. The Senate is expected to vote on the bill, S.601, the Water Resources Development Act, May 7. Introduced by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Sen. David Vitter, R-La., the bill authorizes funding for various Army Corps of Engineers projects (read it here). The bill also allocates resources for the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, and prioritizes which projects should be funded through such money.
Senators lauded the efforts of Export-Import Bank President Fred Hochberg at his Senate Banking Committee renomination hearing May 7, as Hochberg stressed his small business record and countered claims that Ex-Im provides corporate welfare to select American companies. Ex-Im loans largely go to the customers of U.S. companies, customers choosing between the U.S. and countries like India or China -- which provide their own export financing, Hochberg said. When U.S. businesses are going “toe to toe” with competitors, “We can’t unilaterally disarm,” he said.
The U.S. should not exempt competitors in Trans-Pacific Partnership member countries from the yarn-forward rule of origin, a group of Senate Democrats said May 2. In a letter to Acting U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis, the senators said their states house various wool suit and cotton dress shirt manufacturers, companies that “already compete at extremely narrow margins.”
Two House Democratic leaders want President Obama to issue trade sanctions against Bangladesh, including possible suspension of Generalized System of Preferences benefits, in the wake of the country’s devastating garment factory collapse.
A group of 14 Senators want the U.S. to evaluate a recent European Commission ruling imposing antidumping duties on U.S. ethanol imports, including through potential World Trade Organization action. In an April 29 letter to Acting U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis and Acting Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank, the Senators called the antidumping penalty -- approved by the European Commission Feb. 18 -- a “dangerous precedent for trade and trade remedies in advance of the well-publicized start of important trade talks between the United States and the European Union.”
New lobbyist registrations on trade issues include:
Recent trade-related legislation introduced in the House and Senate:
Continuing to limit natural gas exports could put the U.S. at risk of World Trade Organization sanctions, industry representatives and House lawmakers said at a Foreign Affairs Subcommittee hearing April 25.