As lawmakers return to Washington from a two-week break, here’s a look at the major trade legislation now pending before Congress.
FTAs. The U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement is one of the Bush administration’s top trade priorities this year, and the president reiterated his call for Congress to take up the FTA soon before leaving this week for a trip to Europe. Administration officials had indicated that implementing legislation was likely to be submitted shortly after the congressional Easter recess, but it is now believed that the bill will not be sent until at least the week of April 7.
The Bush administration and Democratic leaders have still not reached an agreement that would allow the bill to go forward, although the two sides are continuing to talk. An unnamed official complained in a Roll Call article this week that while the administration has gone “above and beyond any normal process” in trying to work with Democrats on advancing the Colombia FTA, there is still no clear indication what their criteria are for doing so. A House Democratic aide urged the White House to “start off with an olive branch” to show that it is not “just shoving [the FTA] down Congress’ throat,” the article said, but the official responded that “we’ve given them so many olive branches we’ve almost given them an olive tree.” It remains unclear how Democratic leaders will react if the FTA bill is submitted without an agreement.
Trade Adjustment Assistance. During the congressional recess there were staff-level talks in the Senate on legislation to extend and expand the Trade Adjustment Assistance program. The White House has expressed reservations about enlarging the program too much, and the discussions were aimed at finding a balance that both sides can support. Both Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have made it clear that consideration of the Colombia FTA is predicated on a meaningful TAA expansion.
Product Safety. Conference negotiations to resolve the different versions of product safety legislation passed by the House and Senate are expected to begin this month.
Customs Reauthorization. The Senate Finance Committee is expected to draft this year a U.S. Customs and Border Protection reauthorization bill that could include provisions on the safety of imported foods and consumer products, supply chain security programs, intellectual property rights enforcement, duty collections, trade data submission requirements, duty drawback simplification, and CBP staffing and resources for commercial functions. The House reportedly would like to pass a CBP reauthorization bill this year as well.
China. Fifteen House Ways and Means Committee Democrats sent a letter to President Bush March 26 urging him to use the various tools at his disposal to take action against China’s alleged undervaluation of its currency. This move was widely interpreted as an admission that Congress is unlikely to take legislative action on this issue this year. Administration officials all but rejected the ideas laid out in the letter and said that instead they will continue to engage Beijing through bilateral dialogue.
Miscellaneous Trade Bill. Comments are due by April 10 on the miscellaneous trade bill being assembled in the House, which will primarily suspend or reduce duties on imports of products not made domestically. The Senate has not yet issued a call for the introduction of similar measures in that chamber.
Preference Programs. According to Inside US Trade, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel is planning to introduce as early as next month a bill that would extend and revise U.S. trade preference programs. The measure would reauthorize the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act, which expires Sept. 30, and the Generalized System of Preferences, which expires Dec. 31. The bill could also make certain changes to these and other programs, the article states, such as broadening the product coverage of the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement Act, removing an abundant supply provision from the African Growth and Opportunity Act and making it more difficult to remove a product from GSP eligibility. A committee hearing on preference programs could be held later this month and may also address the New Partnership for Development Act of 2007, which would eliminate duties and quotas on imports from the world’s poorest countries.
In addition, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., introduced March 13 legislation that would grant duty-free treatment to imports of certain products made in designated reconstruction opportunity zones in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This bill is currently pending in the Senate Finance Committee.
World Trade/Interactive
