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Legislative update: Fast start for trade bills

January 21, 2009
World Trade\Interactive

Although the conventional wisdom is that major trade policy initiatives are unlikely to emerge from Congress in the near term, a good deal of legislation that will affect international trade has already been introduced in both the House and Senate. Not all of these bills will see congressional action on their own, but those that don’t could be incorporated into other pieces of legislation, whether a broad trade bill like the one introduced recently in the House (H.R. 496) or an unrelated measure. Again this year WTI will publish a biweekly legislative update to bring you the latest information on trade-related developments in Congress.

Following are summaries of some of the more notable trade-related bills introduced to date.

China. China is expected to be one of the top trade priorities for lawmakers in 2009. Many of the provisions of H.R. 496 address problems in which China has traditionally been the primary culprit (e.g., countervailing duties, intellectual property rights and import safety), and there are a handful of other bills targeting those issues individually.

Many of these measures reflect a general sense among lawmakers that China is unfairly manipulating its trade relationship with the U.S. to the detriment of U.S. businesses, workers and, in the case of import safety, consumers. While most of the bills provide for specific governmental remedies, one calls on companies and consumers to take action as well. H. Res. 44, introduced Jan. 9 by Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, condemns China for its “socially unacceptable business practices, including the manufacturing and exportation of unsafe products, casual disregard for the environment, and exploitative employment practices.” The resolution therefore encourages (a) U.S. merchants to “suspend the importation of goods from China and sales of those goods until reforms of these abuses are made” and (b) U.S. parents to “carefully consider the ‘Made in China’ label when purchasing toys for their children.”

Customs Brokers and Sureties. H.R. 313, the Customs Business Fairness Act of 2009, would amend title 11 of the U.S. Code to establish a priority for the payment of claims for duties, taxes and other charges paid to U.S. Customs and Border Protection by licensed customs brokers and sureties on behalf of a debtor. This provision would apply to such amounts arising out of the importation of merchandise entered for consumption within one year before the date of the filing of the petition.

Border Searches of Electronic Devices. Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., reintroduced Jan. 7 the Securing our Borders and our Data Act of 2009 (H.R. 239), which would place various restrictions on government searches of travelers’ digital electronic devices and digital storage media at U.S. borders. CBP has come under fire for its electronic device search policy and this bill reflects lawmakers’ intent to strengthen protections for the business, legal, medical and other information that may be stored on such devices.

H.R. 239 would limit border searches of these items to situations in which a border agent has a reasonable suspicion to believe the traveler is or is about to be engaged in criminal activity. It would also require the Department of Homeland Security to establish border search rules that specify how the integrity of data will be protected, how long and where seized data will be stored and whether downloaded information may be shared. CBP would have to report annually to Congress on its searches and seizures of the digital contents of digital electronic devices and digital storage media.

Cuba. H.R. 188, the Cuba Reconciliation Act, would:

• repeal the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba;
• repeal the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act of 1996;
• declare the denial of foreign tax credit inapplicable to Cuba;
• repeal the prohibition on transactions or payments with respect to certain U.S. intellectual property; and
• allow travel to and from Cuba by U.S. citizens and residents.