On March 8, 2012, seven U.S. Senate Finance Committee members urged U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk to preserve the highest standards of protection for trade secrets in the Trans-Pacific Partnership. According to the letter, which was spearheaded by Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Committee member John Kerry (D-MA), trade secrets are among the most valuable assets for many companies, particularly start-ups and SMEs since, unlike patents, they can be protected without registration or other formalities. The letter states that foreign governments have become adept at developing policies which effectively undermine the value of trade secret protection in order to advance national policy goals, at the expense of U.S. industry.
On March 13, 2012, the Senate will resume consideration of S. 1813, a bill that would reauthorize the Federal-aid highway and highway safety construction programs for two years. According to the Senate, several amendments would be voted on during March 13 debate, culminating with a vote on the bill. On March 8, 2012 three amendments were adopted by the Senate, including one on special measures against foreign jurisdictions that impede U.S. tax enforcement.
The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing on March 15, 2011 on the implications of Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization on the U.S. The President, U.S. Trade Representative, and Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) have recently commented on this issue and called on Congress to terminate the application of the Jackson-Vanik amendment to Russia and extend permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) to the country so that U.S. companies can take advantage of Russia's WTO accession.
On March 8, 2012 before the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Secretary Janet Napolitano again gave written testimony that the FY 2013 trade-related budget priorities of the Department of Homeland Security include (1) expanding the Container Security Initiative (CSI), (2) funding a CBP-private sector partnership program that aims to improve intellectual property rights (IPR) targeting by enabling CBP to identify and release shipments of authentic goods without inspection; (3) expanding Industry Integration Centers (Centers of Excellence and Expertise, CEEs), and (4) updating certain facilities on the southern border. The DHS Secretary gave the same written testimony on February 15, 2012 before the Subcommittee on Homeland Security of the House Appropriations Committee.
On February 14, 2012, President Obama signed into law H.R. 658, the FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act, which authorizes budget resources for the Federal Aviation Administration through FY 2015 and encourages acceleration of the Next Generation Air Transportation System and air traffic control modernization (NextGen).
On March 8, 2012 the following trade-related bills were introduced:
On March 7, 2012, the House Foreign Affairs Committee approved H.R. 4041, the Export Promotion Reform Act, in order to further enhance the promotion of U.S. exports of goods and services by revising the duties of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC) to include a review of agency budgets in support of its strategic plan for trade promotion, etc. The measure would also require the President to give the TPCC chair additional authorities to ensure that the committee's duties and its strategic plan are implemented.
On March 8, 2012, House Speaker John Boehner appointed five Representatives to the President's Export Council. The five are Mr. Reichert (R-WA), Mr. Gerlach (R-PA), Mr. Tiberi (R-OH), Ms. Sutton (D-OH) and Ms. Linda T. Sanchez (D-CA).
Press reports indicate that House Speaker John Boehner will likely have the House act on the Senate's two-year transportation reauthorization bill rather than go forward with their own five-year reform measure. However, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-FL) stated that at the March 7, 2012 GOP conference, he received the support of House leaders to continue to pass a major transportation bill through the House, noting that "House leaders and I agree that the five-year transportation measure approved by the Committee in February is the best option for a job-creating bill to improve our infrastructure." According to Mica, that measure would undergo a few changes, including the financing of transit out of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF). Mica stated that he hoped to move forward with a bill in the coming weeks. Mica press release (dated 03/07/12) available here.
On March 8, 2012, the Senate continued consideration of S. 1813, which would reauthorize the Federal-aid highway and highway safety construction programs for two years. Three amendments were adopted, including one on special measures against foreign jurisdictions that impede U.S. tax enforcement.