The auto industry publicly asked the Trump administration not to rush into certifying readiness for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement's entry into force, given the fact that “a global pandemic is significantly disrupting our supply chains, and the industry is throwing all available resources into managing production through this crisis for our employees and for the broader U.S. economy.”
The British government announced that the U.S. has agreed to accept disease control measures in cattle in the United Kingdom, which means importers will be able buy U.K. beef. American agricultural officials did a three-week inspection of U.K. beef slaughterhouses last summer. The USDA said that raw beef from the UK can come into the U.S. if it was slaughtered on or after March 6. More information can be found in the March 6, 2020 FSIS Constituent Update.
Canada's House of Commons approved the U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement -- called CUSMA in Canada -- by unanimous consent March 13, before adjourning until April 20th due to coronavirus. The Canadian Senate passed it less than an hour later. The last step of royal assent is a formality. Now, all three countries must continue to work on uniform regulations so that they can certify the treaty is ready to enter into force. Once that certification is issued, NAFTA will be replaced on the first day of the third month after the announcement.
Canada's House of Commons approved the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement -- called CUSMA in Canada -- by unanimous consent March 13, before adjourning until April 20 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Canadian Senate passed it less than an hour later. Royal Assent, the equivalent of a presidential signature in the U.S., followed shortly, and the Senate adjourned as well. Now, all three countries must continue to work on uniform regulations so that they can certify the treaty is ready to enter into force. Efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus disease COVID-19 may slow that process, because the countries also have to evaluate the progress toward fulfilling commitments, such as setting up labor courts in Mexico and getting new rules of origin processes in place. Once that certification is issued, NAFTA will be replaced on the first day of the third month after the announcement.
Witnesses at the Senate Small Business Committee hearing on the coronavirus pandemic said that small businesses are going to suffer as people stop traveling, shop less in person and go out to eat less as part of a social distancing strategy necessary to slow the spread of the virus. Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., the top Democrat on the committee, said in his opening statement that he's heard from a small jewelry company that has interruptions in its Chinese supply chain and is getting demands from distributors to pay up front, because they don't trust that retail sales will happen to pay them back.
A bill introduced by House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern, D-Mass., in the House and by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., in the Senate would create a rebuttable presumption about forced labor in Xinjiang, China, which would mean any companies that import goods made in that region “must demonstrate through 'clear and convincing' evidence that there was no forced labor in their supply chains,” according to a release announcing the bill's introduction.
Two bills that affect imports passed on a voice vote out of the Health Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on March 11. Committee Chairman Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., noted that the Cosmetic Safety Enhancement Act, H.R. 5279, is a bill he introduced in 2019 “to improve and advance the safety of cosmetics and other personal care products. Congress has not updated FDA’s authority to regulate these products in over 80 years. It is long past time that we act so that we can ensure consumers are safe and have confidence in the products they use every day.”
A Congressional-Executive Commission on China released a report on March 11 that spelled out a number of concerns around the use of forced labor in China. “The risk for complicity in forced labor is high for any company importing goods directly from [Xinjiang] or those partnering with a Chinese company operating in the region,” it said. The report recommended that the administration consider “issuing a comprehensive import ban on all goods produced, wholly or in part, in [Xinjiang] until a determination can be made by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that [the province's] authorities and producers have ended the systematic use of forced labor“ of Muslim ethnic minorities. The CECC had a hearing on the issue last year (see 1910170039). The National Council of Textile Organizations said March 11 that it agrees with the CECC recommendations.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told reporters that the coronavirus outbreak's impact on China's factories has shown policymakers that the U.S. is too dependent on China for imports. “There ought to be more manufacturing in the United States, but that isn't just on pharmaceuticals, but that could be on anything you're having these supply chains are being interfered with,” he said March 11 in his office at the Capitol.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, speaking to reporters on a conference call March 10, addressed his participation in a friend of the court brief by saying that he hasn't turned away from the idea of legislating in favor of lawsuits. Grassley, along with the top Democrat on his committee and other senators, entered a friend of the court brief designed to force the administration to publish its report on why imported autos and auto parts are a threat to national security (see 2003090034). He said both the law that contains Section 232 and the law that allowed for the Section 301 tariffs on China need to be fixed to give Congress more say on tariff policy. “I think we can do more in the legislative approach than you can in the courts, but we’re looking at both,” he said. “You take every opportunity you can to make sure the Constitution is followed.”