The American Association of Exporters and Importers (AAEI) joined the chorus of customs groups asking for removal of AD/CVD section from the still-under-discussion House customs reauthorization bill, saying the section should be removed “so it does not slow down passage of this important legislation.”
House and Senate lawmakers introduced a bill April 9 that requires the Department of Homeland Security to develop a broad strategy for border security, and meet timelines for implementing that strategy. House Homeland Security Committee Chair Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and Border Subcommittee Chair Candice Miller, R-Mich., introduced the Border Security Results Act of 2013 in the House. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, introduced the Senate version.
A conservative free market group wants Senators to oppose the re-nomination of Fred Hochberg as Export-Import Bank chairman, calling the Bank a distorter of the free market that should be terminated. Club for Growth Vice President-Governmental Affairs Andrew Roth posted on the group’s website April 4 that Hochberg’s nomination vote will be included in its “2013 Congressional Scorecard,” which ranks legislators on their support for the Club’s free-market policies. President Obama nominated Hochberg to continue his tenure at the bank last month (see 13032206). The Bank’s charter -- extended last year with bipartisan support, though some Republicans did vote against it -- will expire Sept. 30, 2014. At the opening of the Bank’s annual conference April 4, Hochberg cautioned against a bowing to the “vocal minority” who oppose the Bank (see 13040417).
New lobbyist registrations on trade issues include:
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce objected to a provision in HR-933, a continuing resolution bill passed last month, that would restrict federal acquisitions of Chinese manufactured technologies, according to a statement this week (here). The law forbids the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Justice, NASA and the National Science Foundation from using federal money to buy Chinese IT products with any "risk of cyber-espionage or sabotage." The legislation sends "a wrong message to the outside world" and "impaired the interests of the U.S.," said Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesman Shen Danyang.
The House Ways and Means Committee extended the deadline for members to submit disclosure forms, for inclusion in a Miscellaneous Tariff Bill, until April 2 at 12 p.m., according to a notice on the committee website. Any provisions included in the 112th Congress MTB will be included in the new bill for this session, the group said. A new MTB was introduced in the House Jan. 1 (see 13010207).
The U.S. Trade Representative should name China a Priority Foreign Country because of alleged trade secret theft by the country, Democratic leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee said March 28. “We have known for some time that the Government of China does not do enough to enforce the intellectual property of U.S. innovators in China. But government-sponsored theft of trade secrets would put China in an entirely different category,” said Committee Ranking Member Sandy Levin, D-Mich., and Trade Subcommittee Ranking Member Charles Rangel, D-N.Y. in a letter sent to Acting USTR Demetrios Marantis. “Given the evidence of this egregious conduct, the corresponding damage to our businesses, and the fact that China is in breach of its [World Trade Organization] obligations, we urge you to consider designating China a Priority Foreign Country for Special 301 purposes.”
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce is commencing an investigation into U.S. nuclear export control policies, sparked by the Department of Energy’s planned revisions to civilian nuclear export regulations. Committee members sent a letter to Energy Secretary Stephen Chu March 26, requesting a briefing on those regulations -- called the Part 810 process -- by April 12. The letter asks a series of questions, including how the department evaluates license requests, if licenses are monitored and what changes are being considered that would enhance U.S. ability to compete internationally. The goal of the investigation is to examine “how current policies and Administration efforts affect opportunities for enhancing or expanding U.S. manufacturing and competitiveness, both for strengthening domestic job growth and the benefit of U.S. influence over international nuclear safety and nuclear security.”
A recent Senate bill adds a new Presidential-appointed position solely for the advancement and protection U.S. intellectual property interests. The Innovation Through Trade Act, S-660, was introduced by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, on March 22. It creates a Chief Innovation and Intellectual Property Negotiator, a position with the rank of ambassador that requires Senate confirmation. The negotiator would be housed within the U.S. Trade Representative Office and would have authority to conduct trade negotiations and enforcement actions related to intellectual property protection.
A group of 15 customs-related associations told House and Senate leaders they are deeply concerned “about the state of the long-delayed and much-needed Customs reauthorization bill,” and urged the removal of antidumping and countervailing duty language from the bill so it can move forward. The two House CBP bills introduced last year -- Republicans’ HR-6642 and Democrats’ HR-6656 -- exhibit broad bipartisan cooperation, said the March 22 letter. But provisions over AD/CVD, the only difference between the two bills, could “stand in the way of progress.” Congress and the Obama Administration should either compromise on the language or deal with AD/CVD separately, the letter said. See 13032106 for ITT’s initial report on industry interest in splitting that language from the bills.