A bipartisan bill has been introduced in the Senate that instructs the administration to produce an annual report on Chinese industrial subsidies, with an analysis of how those subsidies pose a "significant risk" to "employment in the United States, including employment in strategically critical industries," and particularly in manufacturing.
U.S. trade policy should focus more on securing free trade deals and less on tariffs on Chinese goods, farmers told the leaders of the House Select Committee on China during an Aug. 3 panel in Iowa.
Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., one of the shrinking number of members of Congress who advocates for engaging with China rather than punishing it, recently published a white paper of his views on how to manage competition with China, how to use both offensive and defensive measures to compete with China, how to improve U.S. governance and competitiveness, and how to identify areas of cooperation.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., talked about the U.S.-Korea trade deal, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework and the Inflation Reduction Act's restrictions on electric vehicle battery inputs with top Korean officials during a recent visit to Soeul.
The Senate Commerce Committee on July advanced a bill that would require sellers of new merchandise online to disclose "in a conspicuous manner" in its listing the product's country of origin.
Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., who is close with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., is hoping a bill he leads that would prohibit the importation of seafood with any Russian content will pass this year.
The Senate recently passed a bill that would set up a pilot program for non-asset-based third-party logistics providers and warehouses to participate in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program. The CTPAT Pilot Program Act of 2023 would require that CBP run the pilot program for 20 3PLs in total, of which 10 will be non-asset-based and 10 others will be entities that manage and execute logistics services with their “own warehousing assets and resources on behalf of its customers.” Both warehousing companies and non-asset-based 3PLs currently aren't allowed to join CTPAT.
House Select Committee on China Chairman Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., said he wants U.S. companies that source from or have operations in China to "take off the golden blindfolds, and assess the risk." Gallagher and the committee's ranking member, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., were speaking at an event hosted by Punchbowl News on July 20.
The U.S. needs to better prepare for future Chinese retaliation against U.S. trade restrictions, said Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., which could further hurt U.S. imports of items needed for semiconductor production. Sherrill, speaking during a July 20 House Select Committee on China hearing, pointed to China’s recent export restrictions on germanium and gallium -- two metals used to produce semiconductors -- and said she expects more retaliation to come (see 2307060053 and 2307050018). “I think we're going to see more and more instances of China putting our supply chain at risk,” she said.
Sens. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., have reintroduced a bill that would refund some tariffs paid to importers of goods that were hit with tariffs as a result of the Airbus dispute with the EU. The bill also would prohibit future actions by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative that would hike tariffs on goods already in transit -- unless the tariffs were on a nonmarket economy, such as China. The bill would require USTR to set an effective date for the tariff hike no sooner than 60 days from the publication of the target list.