Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, is concerned that China is violating U.S. sanctions against Iran, and asked the State Department about potential actions it may take. McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said China is reportedly buying Iranian oil “in defiance of U.S. sanctions,” according to an April 12 letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken. He asked Blinken to confirm whether those reports are true, whether the administration plans to punish China for violating the sanctions, whether China is selling weapons to Iran and what kind of impact this is having on U.S. companies. A State Department spokesperson declined to comment.
A bill introduced last month (see 2103110018) by nine Republican senators calls for more export controls and sanctions to allow the U.S. to better compete with China and counter that country’s illegal trade practices. The bill's text, released this week, includes several suggestions for U.S. export control policy, and calls for updating export controls and investment restrictions to better cover critical technologies. The bill also suggests the U.S. collaborate more closely with allies on licensing decisions and urges the administration to ensure that exports of drones “remain subject to the same export considerations as military aircraft.”
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said he would join the resolution introduced last month by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, urging the resolution of trade negotiations with the United Kingdom (see 2103250040). “This is a very important trading relationship we've got to get settled right away,” Grassley said on a phone call with reporters April 13. Removing barriers for farmers must be a part of any U.K. free trade agreement, Grassley said. The only trade priority he would rank higher is ensuring China makes its promised purchases under phase one, he said.
Toasts not Tariffs, a coalition of 48 trade groups in the liquor and wine industries, restaurants and retailers, wrote to the commerce and agriculture secretaries and the U.S. trade representative to urge them to convince the European Union and the United Kingdom to lift 25% tariffs on U.S. whiskey exports. The April 12 letter did not mention that those tariffs were in response to 25% tariffs on steel exports from the EU and the U.K., and that lifting the tariffs on steel would end tariffs on whiskey.
In an April report on issues facing U.S. firms operating in China, the Congressional Research Service suggested Congress consider expanding U.S. government reporting on Chinese companies with military ties, imposing more due diligence requirements for U.S. “actors” that represent Chinese firms, and strengthening disclosure requirements relating to Chinese investments. The CRS report also said Congress should decide whether to authorize the Securities and Exchange Commission to “further investigate and verify the accuracy” of information provided to the SEC by Chinese companies and issue “regular alerts” on Chinese investments.
Four pro-trade House Democrats joined Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., recently in introducing a resolution asking the Biden administration to reopen negotiations in Geneva for an Environmental Goods Agreement at the World Trade Organization. DelBene led, joined by Reps. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif.; Don Beyer, D-Va.; Terri Sewell, D-Ala.; and Ron Kind, D-Wis.
Although many American liquor exports received a reprieve with the lifting of Boeing tariffs in Europe, bourbon and other American whiskeys continue to face a 25% punitive tariff in the European Union and the United Kingdom because of Section 232 tariffs on those countries' steel and aluminum exports. At the time the tariffs were imposed, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was majority leader, so the product choice was considered to create additional pressure on the administration to reverse the action.
A bill called the Countering Chinese Propaganda Act, introduced by a half-dozen Republicans in the House and by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., in the Senate, would require the executive branch to impose sanctions on anyone who “knowingly commits a significant act of malign disinformation on behalf of the government of a foreign country or foreign political party that has the direct purpose or effect of influencing political, diplomatic, or educational activities in the United States,” when that disinformation either harms U.S. national security or the safety of any citizen or green card holder. According to the bill, the Treasury Department already sanctioned the head of the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party, You Quan, for his role in the crackdown in Hong Kong. The United Front Work Department is the primary target of the bill, one of the co-introducers, Rep. Jim Banks, D-Ind., said.
Five Republican senators recently introduced a bill that would loosen restrictions on certain gas exports to countries that don’t have a free trade agreement with the U.S. The Natural Gas Export Expansion Act would “expedite” permits for exports of liquefied natural gas to non-FTA countries by treating those license reviews the same as shipments to FTA countries, the senators said March 25. LNG exports reached “all-time highs” in November and December, the lawmakers said, but the export permit review process for those shipments can sometimes take years, placing “onerous regulations” on the LNG industry.
More than 20 House Republicans, led by Rep. Lisa McCain, R-Mich., wrote to the president this week asking him to pursue a free trade deal with Taiwan. They said an FTA would open up opportunities for manufacturers, farmers and energy exporters. “By enacting a trade agreement with Taiwan, the United States would demonstrate to our Indo-Pacific allies that we are invested in their security and prosperity. While China continues to harass our partners through their territorial claims, a United States economic commitment to complement our military presence would pay significant dividends,” the 23 Republicans wrote March 22.