Grassley Says Getting CBTPA Through Senate Before Deadline Possible If No One Objects
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said all 100 senators were being called on Sept. 29, and if none of them oppose renewing the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act, it could pass Sept. 29 or 30. The trade preference program expires Oct. 1. Grassley told International Trade Today during a Sept. 29 call with reporters that he won't know if it can pass before expiration until all the senators weigh in.
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He also said he's introducing a bill that would renew the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program for 15 months. The idea behind the shorter-term renewal is that it would give members of Congress time to debate any changes they want to make to the program. But, Grassley said, it's important to get GSP renewed before it expires at the end of the year “to make sure that businesses and manufacturers ... have certainty in recovering from the economic slowdown that we have now that's caused by the pandemic.”