With legislation to implement the Colombia FTA on hold, the next trade-related measures likely to come up for congressional consideration are conference versions of product safety legislation and the farm bill.
FTAs. The House of Representatives voted April 10 to withdraw “fast track” consideration of a bill to implement the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement after President Bush submitted it without the agreement of Democratic leaders. As a result, Congress is not expected to vote on this legislation until perhaps late this year. Bush administration officials have warned of the broader trade policy effects this vote could have, while Democrats have stressed that it should be seen as a repudiation of the administration’s tactics on the Colombia FTA and not trade liberalization in general. It remains to be seen how these developments may affect prospects for congressional approval of the Panama FTA, which otherwise appears to face little opposition. There is little expectation that the Korea FTA will be considered by Congress this year.
Trade Adjustment Assistance. Democratic leaders in the House and Senate have continually stressed the importance of extending and expanding the Trade Adjustment Assistance program this year, and an updated TAA is one of the economic stimulus measures they want the White House to agree to in exchange for a possible vote on the Colombia FTA. The House approved a TAA overhaul bill Oct. 30 with support from a number of Republicans, but the Bush administration threatened to veto the bill due to its scope and cost. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., is developing his own TAA bill but is reportedly still working with Ranking Member Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, to resolve areas of disagreement.
Product Safety. With the Colombia FTA bill off the calendar for the foreseeable future, consumer product safety legislation is likely to be the next trade-related item on the congressional agenda. Formal conference negotiations to resolve the different bills passed by the House and Senate could begin this month and a final bill could be ready for President Bush to sign as early as Memorial Day.
Preference Programs. Legislation to extend and perhaps revise U.S. trade preference programs is expected to be taken up in the coming months as well. At a minimum, such a bill would reauthorize the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act, which expires Sept. 30, and the Generalized System of Preferences and the Andean Trade Preference Act, which both expire Dec. 31. Other changes could include 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 House Ways and Means Committee hearing on preference programs is anticipated in the near future but has been delayed due in part to the illness of Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y. That hearing could also address the New Partnership for Development Act of 2007, which would eliminate duties and quotas on imports from the world’s poorest countries.
Farm Bill. The House and Senate have begun conference negotiations on a bill that will set U.S. agricultural policy for the next five years. The final bill will contain a number of provisions that affect trade. Among these could be a measure to require the federal government to develop a standard set of practices for the production of agricultural commodities that are imported, sold or marketed in the U.S. in order to reduce the likelihood that those goods are produced with forced or child labor.
Trade Enforcement. Over a dozen Democratic members of the House Ways and Means Committee indicated recently that they plan to introduce legislation to strengthen the enforcement of U.S. rights under its trade agreements. This bill could include provisions to:
• create the new post of congressional trade enforcer and/or a Senate-confirmed chief enforcement officer at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative;
• give the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees more influence in the identification of foreign trade barriers;
• re-establish the Super 301 process for investigating and prosecuting foreign trade barriers;
• curtail the president’s discretion to reject import relief that the International Trade Commission recommends in a Section 421 China safeguard investigation; and
• clarify that the Commerce Department has the authority to apply countervailing duties to non-market economy countries.
Other. Other issues that could be taken up by Congress this year but have seen no recent movement include the following.
• Lawmakers have essentially given up on efforts to approve punitive trade measures against China this year, a surprising development given the ongoing struggles of the domestic economy and a presidential campaign in which trade has been a prominent issue. Legislation that could affect bilateral trade relations remains a possibility later in the year (e.g., the trade enforcement bill mentioned above), particularly as the Summer Olympics in Beijing and the November elections in the U.S. draw nearer.
• The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing in March that could inform the development later this year of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection reauthorization bill. 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 could be included in such a bill. The House would reportedly like to pass a CBP reauthorization measure this year as well.
• The comment period on the miscellaneous trade bill being assembled in the House, which will primarily suspend or reduce duties on imports of products not made domestically, expired April 10. There has been no indication yet as to when and how the House will proceed. The Senate has not yet issued a call for the introduction of similar measures in that chamber.
• A bill (H.R. 3887) establishing a Jan. 15, 2009, deadline for the Department of Labor to submit to Congress and make available to the public a list of foreign-made goods believed to be produced with forced or child labor in violation of international standards, which could expand the scope of products prohibited from entry into the U.S., passed the House Dec. 4 by a 405-2 vote and is now pending in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
• The Affordable Footwear Act (H.R. 3934/S. 2372) would give duty-free treatment to certain footwear imports. This measure has over 100 sponsors in the House.
World Trade/Interactive
