Finance Committee member Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, bemoaned the fact that the House did not vote on a short-term extension of Trade Adjustment Assistance already passed by the Senate, and told his committee's chairman and top Republican that he would like to be part of bipartisan negotiations to get TAA moving, paired with other trade priorities. Portman, in a letter Sept. 28, also said he worries that passing TAA as part of the Democratic-only soft infrastructure package means the broader trade agenda will be neglected. "As policymakers, I believe we can take steps to support American manufacturing and avoid the root causes for TAA," he said, and argued that renewing the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill and Generalized System of Preferences benefits program, and strengthening antidumping and countervailing duty laws would help.
Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, the top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, said he's had no consultation with staff or principals from the Commerce Committee or the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on how they would like to change their approach on tariffs on European steel and aluminum. The European Union and the U.S. have been negotiating over lifting 25% tariffs on steel and 10% tariffs on aluminum imposed during the Trump presidency, ostensibly to protect national security. If the U.S. and the EU do not reach an agreement, retaliatory tariffs on spirits exports are scheduled to double, to 50%. "We’d love to have this conversation with the administration on how you’d tackle 232s and 301s," he said, particularly in a time when supply chains are strained and inflation is up. But Brady declined to say during a call with reporters on Sept. 29 whether his concerns about the drag on the economy from supply chain challenges and inflation mean that he would argue to lift the tariffs on the EU.
Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, the top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, and the Trade Subcommittee chairman and ranking Republican met with World Trade Organization Director-General Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala when she was in town last week. Brady and Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., issued a statement that said, "We were delighted to meet with Director-General Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala at this critical juncture in the history of the World Trade Organization. As we discussed today, our commitment to the success of the WTO is unwavering. However, the United States has long insisted that reform is needed at the WTO, and bipartisan support in Congress for WTO reform is stronger than ever." Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., chairman of the trade subcommittee, said, “It was an honor to lead a bipartisan roundtable discussion with Director-General Ngozi where members shared their support for the WTO and relayed their priorities to Dr. Ngozi directly. I, along with several of my colleagues, emphasized the importance of a WTO TRIPS waiver on COVID-19 vaccines, treatments, and tests as well as the critical role that the WTO has to play in protecting the climate. I’m also glad we were able to discuss illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, and was encouraged by Dr. Ngozi’s comments about potential progress in dealing with these horrific and destructive practices.”
The House-passed 2022 National Defense Authorization Act includes a provision that would mandate new sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project. The amendment, proposed by Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, would authorize sanctions against the project, “excluding the national security waiver,” to attempt to stop its completion. The Biden administration has issued some sanctions against the Russia-to-Germany pipeline project (see 2108230057) but has also said more U.S. sanctions wouldn’t stop the pipeline from being completed and would only cause tension with Germany (see 2107220008).
Rep. Scott Franklin, R-Fla., introduced a bill that would prohibit U.S. funding for the Taliban government and require sanctions on foreigners who knowingly provide assistance to Afghanistan's government. Franklin said Sept. 23 that his bill is a companion to the bill introduced by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., (see 2109210010). He has five Republican co-sponsors. Franklin said the bill also would repeal the exception in Iran sanctions for sectors necessary for Afghan reconstruction. "While we feel this should be an issue on which all sides can agree, sadly our Democrat colleagues have not chosen to join this effort,” Franklin said.
Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., introduced a bill that would offer the more generous unemployment and retraining benefits under Trade Adjustment Assistance to people who lost their jobs because their companies' exports declined after retaliatory tariffs. The bill, whose text was published Sept. 20, says the retaliation could be as a result of tariffs under Section 232, Section 301 or the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Currently, TAA covers job loss due to import competition in goods and services.
Six Republicans introduced a bill last week that would impose sanctions on foreign individuals who knowingly provide assistance to the Taliban, and require the U.S. government to ensure that taxpayer dollars do not go to “foreign terrorist organizations in Afghanistan.” The text of the bill was published Sept. 20.
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, recently offered several amendments to the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, including provisions relating to export control statistics, the Entity List and sanctions.
In reaction to news that China has formally asked to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (see 2109170052), TPP's two greatest champions in the Senate said negotiations on trade with Asian allies must resume. Sens. Tom Carper, D-Del., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, issued a joint statement Sept. 20: “It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that China is taking steps to strengthen their trade powers across the globe. For quite some time, we have been warning about China’s subtle yet deliberate moves to join the CPTPP -- the very trade pact crafted to counter China’s trade influence that the United States mistakenly walked away from. And last week, we saw them take an affirmative step in that troubling direction. We’ve long believed that United States trade leadership is critical for our country’s economy and national security -- and it’s clear that China is not waiting to assert itself in the region. The U.S. cannot afford to continue waiting in the hallway -- we must get our seat back at the table to re-engage our Asia Pacific allies in trade.”
The legislative language for a proposed change to the treatment of excise tax drawback claims on exported tobacco would make such claims ineligible not just going forward (see 2109130038), but also would disallow claims filed since Dec. 18, 2018. That is the date that CBP issued a final rule saying that such claims were not allowed. However, the prohibition did not take effect until Feb. 19, 2019, because of the 60-day waiting period after the rule's publication (see 1908300032). The final rule was overturned in court, so some exporters have been collecting substitution drawback on these goods -- or as the government calls it, "double drawback," since the case was won.