New lobbyist registrations on trade issues include:
A group of 10 Democrats and 34 Republicans from the House of Representatives asked Energy Secretary Steven Chu to facilitate the approval of liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities around the U.S. for export. The letter said the inability for LNG producers to market to international customers could hurt production in the U.S. While the Energy Department has started to review and issue LNG export licenses, there's concern the process doesn't have a timeline or "sense of urgency," the lawmakers said.
New lobbyist registrations on trade issues include:
Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman and ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, respectively, asked the State Department and Defense Department to assess the national security impact of the recent Pratt & Whitney Canada export control violations, as well as explain how State and DoD will work more closely together to ensure compliance with export controls, in an Aug. 6 letter to the Secretaries of State and Defense. Levin and McCain also asked DoD to evaluate the case for the appropriateness of contract suspension or debarment.
Exports to China are outpacing exports to the rest of the world in Congressional districts across the country, according to the US-China Business Council's (USCBC) annual US Congressional District Exports to China report. It said export growth to China was higher than to other countries in 420 of 435 congressional districts. "China is the third-largest U.S. export market and continues to provide growing opportunities for U.S. businesses, whether large or small," said USCBC Vice President Erin Ennis.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) hopes to progress legislative efforts in September on granting Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) to Russia, he said in a statement. The House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee have approved similar legislation to give PNTR to Russia. "Upon our return from the August constituent work period, the House is prepared to take up under suspension of the rules a bill to extend [PNTR] to Russia, combined with the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act, should the Senate and President commit to support passage before the end of September."
The Senate Aug. 3 approved Meredith Broadbent's nomination as a commissioner in the International Trade Commission. Broadbent is a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and has been a Trade Advisor at the Global Business Dialogue, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Industry, Market Access, and Telecommunications, and a senior professional staff member for the House Ways and Means Committee. (See ITT's Online Archives 11110733 for summary of the nomination.)
New lobbyist registrations on trade issues include:
Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) introduced legislation (HR-6265) Aug. 2 meant to reduce the cost of importing raw materials for manufacturing cotton shirts in the U.S. "Every day millions of shirts enter the U.S. duty free, while American shirt manufacturers are subject to strict entry quotas and duties as high as 13.5% once the quota is filled," said Rangel's office in a press release. Text of the bill wasn't yet available by press time. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J) has introduced similar legislation recently approved by the Senate Finance Committee.
The Senate on Aug. 2 approved under unanimous consent legislation that would renew import restrictions from Burma and extend a Third-Country Fabric (TCF) provision that allows African countries to use third-country fabric and then export that into the U.S. The bill also makes non-controversial technical changes to the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) textiles and apparel provisions. The House approved an identical bill earlier the same day. The legislation will next go to the President.