In a bill that Republicans say is "rightsizing agencies and programs," the division of the Commerce Department that handles antidumping and countervailing duties administration would be cut by 5.7% -- $7 million -- from the current fiscal year. The bill also proposes cutting funding of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative by 8.1% -- $6 million -- from current spending. The International Trade Commission, which manages changes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule code, provides independent analysis crucial to the AD/CVD process, and manages the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill product nominating process, would get a 5.7% cut, $7 million less than current spending.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., called on the Biden administration to either start a USMCA dispute or initiate a Section 301 investigation to punish Canada for passing a retroactive tax on digital services.

A bipartisan letter from six senators is asking CBP and USDA to do more to verify that used cooking oil that is imported is truly used, and not blended with virgin palm oil. Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Roger Marshall, R-Kan., led the June 20 letter, with support from Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., and Deb Fischer, R-Neb.

A bipartisan bill has been introduced to prevent companies that receive Chips Act funding from purchasing tools and equipment made by Chinese firms. Some of the Chips Act funding is aimed at reshoring legacy chip production, and China makes equipment to make those less-sophisticated chips. Most advanced chipmaking machinery is made in the U.S., Japan or the Netherlands.

Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, said June 18 that he welcomes language included in the recent Group of Seven (G7) leaders’ communique expressing concern about Russia’s “environmentally unsustainable and unfair trading practices” for seafood.

The House of Representatives last week approved a proposal that would require the administration to write a report to help Congress better understand U.S. reliance on Chinese-made ocean shipping containers, a situation highlighted by supply chain constraints that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former President Donald Trump, meeting with Republicans in Congress June 13, told them he would consider eliminating the income tax and replacing it with tariff revenue if he is reelected. While Trump has floated putting a 10% tariff on all imports, and a 60% tariff on Chinese imports, but that would not raise enough revenue to replace the income tax.

The House Appropriations Committee passed a bill on a party-line vote to fund the DHS for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. The bill includes a provision that requires CBP to ban the import of aerosol-dispensing unmanned aircraft produced or manufactured in a foreign adversary country, such as China.

House Foreign Affairs Committee member Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., during a hearing on competition with China in the Western Hemisphere, argued that the shortages experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic show that businesses should move supply chains to the Western Hemisphere.

Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told a think tank audience that the U.S. needs to negotiate and Congress needs to ratify new broad trade agreements, so that the U.S. can develop long-term sources of processed minerals needed for electrification.