When Democrats met in the House of Representatives the morning after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi formally initiated an impeachment inquiry, the bulk of the meeting was an optimistic briefing on the progress toward refining the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement to satisfy Democratic priorities.
Two Hong Kong bills that could affect trade with the Chinese territory passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee Sept. 25. H.R. 4270, the PROTECT Hong Kong Act, would ban the export of tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray to Hong Kong, so that U.S. companies aren't complicit with crackdowns on protestors (see 1909190040).
A bipartisan group of senators asked U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to secure better access for pecan exporters to India as the two countries negotiate a trade deal. In a Sept. 20 letter, the senators urged Lighthizer to work to remove the “existing barriers” pecan exporters are facing, including a 36 percent Indian import tariff, compared with 10 percent tariffs on pistachios and almonds.
The Congressional Research Service issued an updated report on Sept. 13 on retaliatory tariffs and U.S. agriculture, detailing retaliatory tariffs imposed on the U.S. by China, Canada, Mexico, the European Union and more. The 49-page report also includes “key competitors” for China’s agricultural market, which U.S. agricultural sectors have been most affected by the tariffs, and the long- and short-term impacts of the tariffs on U.S. industries and the economy.
A House bill would increase export controls on defense items to Hong Kong police, including “nonlethal crowd control items.” The bill, introduced Sept. 10, would require the Trump administration to restrict export license approvals of certain “covered defense articles and services” to the Hong Kong Disciplined Services. If the bill is passed, the covered items would be determined by the Commerce and State departments and sent in a report to Congress. The bill mentions “water cannon trucks, tear gas, rubber bullets, sponge grenades, beanbag rounds, batons, pepper spray, pepper balls and projectile launchers,” as possible options. “I am deeply concerned that American-made police equipment is being used to violently crack down on peaceful protesters in Hong Kong,” Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., who helped introduce the bill, said in a statement. “We ought not to allow American companies to sell this equipment to foreign governments when we see evidence that it is being used for immoral and unjust purposes.” The bill is titled the “Placing Restrictions on Teargas Exports and Crowd Control Technology to Hong Kong Act,” or the PROTECT Hong Kong Act.
Funding for the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. is covered in the continuing resolution that passed the House of Representatives on Sept. 19, and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said Sept. 18 that he hopes a long-term reauthorization can be achieved before Nov. 21, when the stop-gap funding measure ends.
A Senate bill would increase export controls on electronic waste and ban exports and re-exports of the waste without a government authorization. The bill, S. 2448, introduced Sept. 9, would also require any approved electronic waste exports to only be exported for “reclamation, recall, or reuse.” Exporters would also have to file certain information in the Automated Export System, including a description and quantity of the exempted waste, the name of each country that will receive the waste, the name of the ultimate consignee and documentation that proves the consignee has “the necessary permits, resources, and competence to manage the exempted electronic waste items,” the bill said. Violators of the proposed regulations would face the same penalties as violators of the Export Administration Regulations. The bill is aimed at preventing the waste from becoming “the source of counterfeit goods that may reenter military and civilian electronics supply chains” in the U.S.
Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer asking him to prioritize the removal of Section 232 retaliatory tariffs from India, which have resulted in a 70 percent tariff on U.S. apples in that country. Before the U.S. hit Indian steel with 25 percent tariffs, U.S. apples were taxed at 50 percent in India. India held off on retaliation for more than a year, but when the U.S. announced it would terminate India's eligibility for the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program, it responded in kind (see 1906170053).
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, says he has not been able to see the written counterproposal on the NAFTA rewrite from the USTR to the House Democrat working group, but said that ending the ability to block panels in state-to-state dispute is under discussion. Grassley said his staff has had an overview of the administration's proposals to refine the new NAFTA, known as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, "and we look at it as something we can live with." He said he doesn't know how Democrats have received the counterproposal. "I think that’s more important than my reaction to it," he said.
Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., is seeking more colleagues to join a letter asking the administration to move Switzerland to the front of the line for trade negotiations. Four other Democrats and two Republicans, including fellow Ways and Means Committee member Rep. Kenny Marchant, R-Texas, are on board. Beyer noted that Switzerland is the country's ninth-largest trading partner. "A Swiss FTA presents an opportunity to negotiate a benchmark-setting agreement with a committed and open partner known for its high standards for labor and environmental protection," he said. Beyer was previously the U.S. ambassador to Switzerland.