The House of Representatives passed a bill on May 27 that would authorize U.S. sanctions against Chinese officials for abuses of the country’s Uighur population. The sanctions included in the bill, which passed 413-1 in the House and cleared the Senate on May 14, have been criticized by China and will likely lead to heightened U.S.-China trade tensions (see 1912040046). The bill now awaits President Donald Trump’s signature.
The Senate Commerce Committee recommended a bill that would establish a volunteer National Shipper Advisory Committee that would give advice to the Federal Maritime Commission about the reliability, competitiveness, integrity and fairness of international ocean freight. The commission would invite 12 importers and 12 exporters to participate. S.B. 2894, introduced by Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., passed out of committee on a voice vote on May 20.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who was testifying in front of the Senate Banking Committee May 19, was asked by Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., why the government hasn't placed sanctions on Huawei. He said that Huawei and some other Chinese companies aren't really private-sector firms, and that they were built by stealing American intellectual property.
Two members of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs introduced legislation that urges the Trump administration to sanction Russian government officials responsible for human rights abuses. Reps. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., and Michael McCaul, R-Tex., said the bill aims to penalize the Russian government for imprisoning journalists, political opposition leaders and religious freedom activists, according to a May 11 press release. The bill asks the administration to impose sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights accountability Act or “other applicable” authorities.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., announced that he's introducing a joint resolution that the U.S. should withdraw from the World Trade Organization. Such a resolution, if it were to pass, would not be binding.
More than 25 lawmakers asked the Trump administration to confirm that it is not stopping humanitarian trade with Cuba amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In a May 5 letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the lawmakers, led by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said public health “must take precedence” over trade restrictions. The lawmakers referenced reports (see 2005040019 and 2004080024) that foreign companies have been unable to deliver aid to Cuba “due to burdensome regulatory and reporting requirements” and “fear of prosecution” by the U.S. “This is dangerous and contrary to our longstanding tradition of not politicizing the delivery of humanitarian aid,” the letter said.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, hopes that a free trade agreement with the United Kingdom -- for which negotiations started May 5 -- would be more favorable to American agriculture than European Union policies have been. Grassley, who was speaking to reporters on a conference call May 5, said the EU restrictions that irritate him the most are on the use of feed additives for cattle, geographical indications, and “that we can’t get [genetically modified organisms] into Europe.”
The Congressional Research Service, in a May 1 report, noted that Congress may want to turn its attention to the U.S.-Kenya negotiations not only because of the free trade agreement's potential economic effects, but also because of mandates in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) -- Kenya is the second-largest beneficiary of AGOA when oil is excluded.
The Congressional Research Service issued a report April 30 on exports of U.S.-made defense products. The report includes explanations of U.S. regulations covering defense exports, international governing bodies of those exports -- including the Wassenaar Arrangement -- the foreign military sales process and more. The report also suggested that Congress should consider whether increasing trade should be an “explicit goal” of U.S. arms sales policy and whether current sales methods are consistent with the intent of the Arms Export Control Act.
Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., said that many of his colleagues think “that we can pull back and do everything ourselves,” and that he thinks they may look at the shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic response as evidence that reshoring is the way to go. “You will see more capacity building in the United States, and that makes sense; the idea we can do it all ourselves is pure folly.” Schneider, who was speaking on a webinar hosted by the Washington International Trade Association on April 28, also thinks there needs to be redundancy in supply chains, and more warehousing and less “just-in-time” delivery.