House Negotiators Say Trade Title Could Stay in Bill

Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, the top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, and a negotiator with a lot of leverage, said a few days ago that negotiators had their initial meeting, which was "a chance to talk through some of the more controversial and extraneous issues that will be difficult to resolve. Identifying those where we think there can be common ground. There are certainly differences."

He said at the Capitol on June 24 that he thinks there is a chance to build off the US Innovation and Competition Act language on the General System of Preferences benefits program renewal and the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill. "Hopefully on [Section] 301 [exclusions] as well," he said. "It was a start. A discussion that helps."

Brady thinks the antidumping and countervailing duty reform and de minimis changes and outbound investment screening should not stay in the bill. "We really need to take a deliberative approach on [those]," he said. "Because in those areas, every word counts. While there has been work by some in the Senate, these have not really been vetted. With the clock ticking, those tend to fall out."

Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., who is not on the conference committee, seemed to side with the doubters that the trade title differences can be settled. "At some point, we just have to make a decision, and move on," he said.

Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., who authored many of the most controversial trade title proposals, said in a hallway interview: "I'm not giving up. I think what we've done with the trade title is eminently defensible, it's supported by the administration, it has public support, and I think it's the right thing to do. Hope springs eternal."

One of the critical divides is over renewing trade adjustment assistance (see 2206230071). Republicans don't want to renew it since there is no negotiating agenda to lower tariffs through free trade agreements. Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Chris Coons, D-Del., introduced a bill that would renew TAA and pair it with a limited trade promotion authority that could only be used for an FTA with the U.K.

Blumenauer said, "As you know, this is sort of an absolutely bottom line for us, and Portman is sympathetic, but the problem with separating out trade promotion authority, I mean, that needs to be done in conjunction with the administration."

Blumenauer noted he had voted for TPA in the past, and was in the minority of Democrats who did. "It needs to be done right. I think I've got a little credibility on that, having sort of walked the plank. What we did in the work laying the groundwork for the revised NAFTA, we took the time, we were able to build it together," he said. "Getting the trade promotion authority right is the key to avoid gridlock, acrimony, and so ... I deeply respect both gentlemen ... and getting trade adjustment assistance reinstated as soon as possible is a very high priority. I'm open to talking, but I have reservations about linking it to something that is a long-term, complicated effort. And if we don't do it right, it creates more problems than it solves."

Kind, who has been a reliable vote for TPA, said: "They're trying to think creatively, I give them a lot of credit. Having been here for a while, and knowing how difficult it is to get any TPA passed, to do just a one-off, for one country, I think you're asking for trouble."

But, when asked how TAA can stay in the China package when it faces Republican opposition, he said, "That's where the problem lies. What is the Senate willing to accept over there to move it along?"

Brady didn't close the door entirely to the Portman proposal, but continues to be skeptical. "I think we have to let the negotiations continue. Certainly, TAA is very important to [Ways and Means] Chairman [Richard] Neal. He has made that very clear. This is a very high priority for him," he said. But, he said, Republicans feel that TAA should always be linked to efforts to open markets for U.S. exports through tariff liberalization.

"Unfortunately, we've got a president who's just got a firm moratorium on trade agreements. We'll try to be creative, but that's a huge barrier."