House Ways and Means Committee member Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, introduced a bill last week that would impose 10% tariffs on goods imported from countries that have trade surpluses with the U.S. and 15% tariffs on goods from countries that have trade deficits with the U.S.

The Committee to Support US Trade Laws said that while it supports the Commerce Department appropriations bill that advanced in the House of Representatives this week, it "is disappointed by the decrease in funding of the International Trade Administration’s (ITA) budget from last year to $562 million in direct appropriations."

Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, has introduced a bill that would reduce or waive tariffs on some imports for manufacturers who qualify for new general import licenses.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., issued a statement Jan. 7 saying that he hopes there will be a vote on the Russia sanctions bill (see 2512190029 and 2601050050) "as early as next week."

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., announced Jan. 5 that he has appointed Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., to replace Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., as ranking member of the House Select Committee on China.

Thirteen House Democrats are asking DHS to explain why there have been fewer detentions since March, why no new entities have been added to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List since Jan. 15, and to explain CBP's strategy for enforcing UFLPA in high-priority sectors.

A bipartisan letter from 29 members of the House Ways and Means Committee asked Canada to repeal its Online Streaming Act. Rep. Lloyd Smucker, R-Pa., and Trade Subcommittee ranking member Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., led the letter, as they said the act disadvantages U.S. streaming companies by making them produce local Canadian content.

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., introduced No Trade Preferences for Communist China Act, which would end permanent normal trade relations with China.

The top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, criticized U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer for the U.S.'s communique declaring that the era of most-favored nation tariff rates is over (see 2512160045). In a letter sent last week, Wyden said, "MFN has been integral to U.S. trade policy and a core principle of the international trading system for nearly 80 years, and it ensures that U.S. goods and services can compete on a level playing field in international markets without being targeted with unfair tariffs or regulations."

CBP should write a report on whether self-initiation of cases under the Enforce and Protect Act "would allow CBP to pursue more circumvention cases and extend existing investigations deeper into supply chains fully and whether such authority would result in greater enforcement," wrote the Senate Appropriations Committee, in its instructions to CBP as part of its DHS annual appropriations bill. It directed the agency to compile the report within 90 days of the bill's enactment.