USTR Says Discussions with Congress on Moving GSP and FTA Bills Continue
In a statement praising the Senate’s passage of H.R. 2832, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) states that the Senate’s passage is “an important step toward renewal of the Generalized System of Preferences and enactment of Trade Adjustment Assistance reforms and the pending trade agreements with South Korea, Panama, and Colombia,” According to the USTR, discussions continue with congressional leadership on how these bills will move through the legislative process. The USTR notes that the FTAs, along with TAA, are an integral part of the President’s plan to create U.S. jobs and he looks forward to their prompt passage.
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Speaker Says House Will Consider H.R. 2832 and FTAs in Tandem
After the Senate’s passage of H.R. 2832, House Speaker Boehner (R-OH) said that the House will act on H.R. 2832 and the three pending trade agreements once the President submits them to Congress.
Boehner stated that “we await the President’s submission of the three trade agreements sitting on his desk so the House can consider them in tandem with the Senate-passed GSP/TAA legislation. If the President submits these agreements promptly, I’m confident that all four bills can be signed into law by mid-October.”
Senate Majority Leader Previously Outlined Different Plan
Press reports have previously indicated that Senate Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) had announced a deal on a timeline for moving the free trade agreements (FTAs) forward. Under that plan, the Senate would amend the House-passed H.R. 2832 to include TAA provision, pass it, and then send H.R. 2832 as amended back to the House for approval. The House would then wait to adopt an enrollment rule (a prerequisite for the Presidential signature of H.R. 2832) until it passes the implementing legislation for the pending Korea (KORUS), Colombia and Panama FTAs. Once passed by the House, the FTA legislation would go to the Senate for its expected passage there, and H.R. 2832 would go to the President for signature into law.
(See ITT’s Online Archives or 09/23/11 news, 11092309, for BP summary of Senate passage of H.R. 2832)
USTR statement available here