Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., introduced a bill that would mandate country of origin labeling on beef only if it was born, raised and slaughtered in the U.S., the second-such bill Khanna has introduced during this Congress. Gooden said, “American cattle ranchers are being undercut by foreign competition because current labeling standards allow imported beef to be marked as made in the United States if it is only packaged here. Our trade policies should promote American-made beef and put the hard-working cattle ranchers in the United States first.” He announced the bill on March 30.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said it would be good if the House and Senate could name their respective conferees to the committee that will aim to hash out a compromise between the two chambers' China packages. He said the next two weeks, when Congress will not be in Washington, could be put to good use by the members. But Hoyer suggested the House will wait until the Senate passes its motion to go to conference, and gives its negotiating instructions.
After passing the House 424-8 more than two weeks ago, a bill to end permanent normal trade relations status with Russia and Belarus remains hung up in the Senate. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., objected to the language renewing Magnitsky sanctions that is attached to the bill (see 2203290057).
The door is open for Congress to name conferees to negotiate its China package, after both chambers cleared procedural hurdles last week (see 2203290044). Senators expressed optimism Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., would achieve his goal of naming conferees to a formal negotiation before the end of the work period April 8. “We’re going to divide up into areas of jurisdiction, and I’m fairly optimistic,” Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said April 1. Asked about the timeline for naming conferees, Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told reporters: “Soon.”
Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and three Republican senators introduced the China Trade Cheating Restitution Act to require CBP to pay interest on distributions of antidumping duties and countervailing duties to injured parties under the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act, which applies to entries made before Sept. 30, 2007. For imports that entered since FY 2008 began, injured parties have not been allowed to receive money collected on antidumping or countervailing duties. The Senate bill, introduced March 30, is a companion to one introduced in December in the House (see 2112140032).
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to members of Congress asking that they pass the INFORM (Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces) Consumers Act, which would require online retail marketplaces to identify third-party sellers that reach certain volumes. The Chamber said, "This legislation would deter retail crime by closing off a prominent avenue by which criminals seek to profit by selling stolen goods, often to unsuspecting customers."
The Ocean Shipping Reform Act, which aims to end unreasonable detention and demurrage and make ocean carriers accept more exports, passed the Senate by a voice vote on March 31.
Sen. John Thune, the South Dakota Republican who serves as his party's top vote-counter, told reporters at the Capitol that a bill to remove permanent normal trade relations status from Russia is stalled in the Senate over one Republican's disagreement on the Magnitsky Act renewal. He said that Democrats are negotiating with Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., on the language he wants regarding the Magnitsky Act. "They're still trying to negotiate, and hopefully they'll be able to find a path forward, but as of right now, it's hung up, and I don't see that busting loose this week, and next week is the Supreme Court [nomination vote], so it doesn't look like anything's likely to happen on that until after the Easter break."
With a vote that sends its U.S. Innovation and Competition Act back to the House, the Senate moved the two chambers' China packages one step closer to a legislative conference to align the bills. The 68-28 vote came late March 28.
Rep. Kevin Brady, the top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, said that when Republicans meet privately with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai ahead of her testimony March 30, they will argue that the Section 301 exclusions announced last week (see 2203230070) were far too limited.