Congress is expected to continue to be active on trade issues this summer. Having approved a number of trade-related measures in the farm bill, lawmakers are likely to turn their attention to topics such as trade enforcement and import safety.
Trade Enforcement. The Senate Finance Committee held a May 22 hearing on trade enforcement issues as part of its consideration of legislation (S. 1919) introduced by Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont. At that hearing administration officials indicated their opposition to several provisions and witnesses from the private sector warned that some measures might not yield the desired results. See the May 27 issue of WTI for more details. A committee markup of the bill is tentatively scheduled for June.
In the House, the Ways and Means committee is continuing to develop its own trade enforcement bill. See the April 7 issue of WTI for more information.
Some observers say that with this year’s shortened legislative calendar it is increasingly unlikely that Congress will send a unified trade enforcement bill to the White House.
FTAs. There has been little visible progress toward bringing the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement up for a vote in the House. Bush administration officials are continuing to press Democratic leaders to indicate specifically what steps need to be taken before a vote can be held. In a May 23 speech at the White House commemorating World Trade Week, the president said foreign leaders frequently ask him with “amazement” why the Colombia FTA has not been approved by Congress and that his response is “that politics is too strong right now.” On the other hand, Inside US Trade cited Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., as saying recently that in conversations with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., she had made it clear that Democrats intend to bring the FTA up for a vote once other priorities are addressed.
The Korea FTA continues to be tied to the issues of access to the Korean market for U.S. beef and automobiles. The U.S. and Korea announced in mid-April a two-stage process for Korea to fully reopen its market to all U.S. exports of beef and beef products, a step key U.S. lawmakers have said is a necessary precondition for congressional consideration of the FTA. But public opposition to that agreement in Korea prompted the government there to delay its implementation and has threatened prospects for FTA approval in Korea’s legislature. In an attempt to address this opposition, the two sides recently exchanged letters indicating that the beef deal does not preclude Korea from taking steps to ensure public health (e.g., restricting imports of beef from the U.S. if mad cow disease is again detected there) so long as they are in accordance with international rules (see attachments). On autos, some U.S. lawmakers say they will oppose the FTA unless it is renegotiated to more satisfactorily address this issue, but Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade Chris Padilla said recently that “there’s no problem with the auto provisions” of the agreement.
A May 21 letter to President Bush from a dozen Democratic senators appeared to create another precondition for congressional approval of the Korea FTA. The letter argued that Korea “has a long history of blocking American goods” despite repeated bilateral agreements seeking to lower Korean trade barriers, and it criticized the Bush administration for “refus[ing] to make trade enforcement a priority.” The senators asserted that they “simply cannot support another trade agreement ahead of enforcing our trade laws, improving product safety, and ensuring a level playing field for our businesses and workers.”
Food and Drug Safety. The House Energy and Commerce Committee is still considering a draft bill that Committee Chairman John Dingell, D-Mich., circulated last month on the safety of imported food, drugs, cosmetics and medical devices. Dingell’s bill includes a number of controversial provisions, including annual registration fees for companies importing these products into or exporting them to the U.S., import restrictions, country of origin labeling and stiffer penalties.
In the Senate, Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., has circulated his own draft bill, which press reports say is largely similar to Dingell’s version but addresses some of the concerns raised about it. The text of the draft Kennedy bill is attached.
Farm Bill. Most of the trade provisions included in the farm bill have been enacted into law after both the House and Senate voted to override a presidential veto of the bill. This includes provisions designed to forestall any immediate action by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to revoke the First Sale Rule and to impose various roadblocks to any such action in the future. See the May 23 issue of WTI for more details.
Miscellaneous Trade Bill. Comments on a dozen additional bills the House Ways and Means Committee is considering for inclusion in the miscellaneous trade bill it is putting together are due next Monday, June 2. Among these are the Affordable Footwear Act (H.R. 3934), which would eliminate import duties on certain footwear, and a measure to make various changes to the African Growth and Opportunity Act. Prospects for an MTB in the Senate have become somewhat cloudy as Finance Committee Ranking Member Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, makes a push for individual provisions to disclose the names of those lobbying in favor of them.
Export Controls. The House of Representatives approved by voice vote May 15 the Security Assistance and Arms Export Control Reform Act of 2008 (H.R. 5916), which aims to address various criticisms of the U.S. export control system (see the May 19 issue of WTI for highlights of this bill). The Senate Foreign Relations Committee could mark up similar legislation in June.
Intellectual Property Rights. The House approved a bill (H.R. 4279) aimed at improving federal IPR enforcement efforts on May 8 (see the May 12 issue of WTI for more details). The bill has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which so far has not scheduled a hearing on it.
Product Safety. Formal conference negotiations to resolve the different consumer product safety bills passed by the House and Senate have still not begun. The final measure is expected to increase criminal and civil penalties, tighten standards and impose new reporting requirements.
Trade Adjustment Assistance. According to Inside US Trade, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Baucus said there has been some progress in discussions between Democrats and Republicans on developing legislation to extend and expand the Trade Adjustment Assistance program, which is one of the economic stimulus measures Democratic leaders want the White House to agree to in exchange for a possible vote on the Colombia FTA. Baucus said that if participants can agree on “the right bill” the committee could mark it up in June.
Preference Programs. With the farm bill containing provisions to extend and/or expand preference programs for Haiti and the Caribbean and the MTB likely to include modifications to AGOA, preference program legislation anticipated later this year is expected to focus on extending and perhaps revising the Generalized System of Preferences and the Andean Trade Preference Act, both of which are scheduled to expire Dec. 31. Hearings in the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees are in the works for later this summer.
CBP Reauthorization. A Senate Finance Committee hearing on CBP-related issues was postponed April 29 and has still not been rescheduled. The committee is expected to introduce later this year a CBP reauthorization bill that could include provisions on the safety of imported foods and consumer products, supply chain security programs, IPR enforcement, duty collections, trade data submission requirements, duty drawback simplification, and CBP staffing and resources for commercial functions. The House would reportedly like to pass a CBP reauthorization measure this year as well.
World Trade/Interactive
