The Senate won’t bring up Trans-Pacific Partnership implementation legislation for a vote this year, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said during a Nov. 9 press conference, according to a transcript provided by a McConnell spokesperson. Any decisions on the deal and future trade agreements will depend on how president-elect Donald Trump will exercise presidential Trade Promotion Authority, passed in 2015, he said. "It's certainly not going to be brought up this year," though Trump has the ability to improve the TPP through TPA, he added. A State Department spokesperson said the TPP remains one of several priorities on which the Obama administration will try to make as much progress as possible before inauguration day in January.

House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, on Nov. 8 said during a CNBC interview (here) that it will be difficult to pass Trans-Pacific Partnership implementing legislation during the upcoming lame-duck session of Congress, as both presidential candidates remained opposed to the deal just before voters elected Donald Trump president. "We haven’t even seen the implementing legislation,” he said. “There are so many provisions that the Obama White House put in there that have nothing to do with opening up trade. We should be a great trading nation, but I’m not sure TPP makes the cut." Several lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. (see 1609300035), House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis. (see 1609090013), and Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz. (see 1609220036), have expressed doubts that Congress will ratify TPP during the final congressional session of President Barack Obama's tenure.

Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., plan to introduce the Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Act, which would require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which includes the Food and Drug Administration, to determine whether such devices require a 510(k) premarket submission, the senators announced Nov. 7 (here). The 510(k) submissions are required for companies that want to market an FDA Class I, II or III device not subject to a formal premarket approval, in order to demonstrate that products are safe and effective, and substantially equivalent to a legally marketed device.

House lawmakers redoubled efforts to ensure the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) negotiate a contract extension in the near term, though their current contract doesn’t expire until July 2017. A letter (here) sent by 22 Congress members to PMA CEO James McKenna and ILWU President Robert McEllrath called for negotiators to avoid such a situation as the groups’ 2014 contract expiration that depleted U.S. foreign market shares, disrupted supply chains, and cost the U.S. economy more than $7 billion, according to some estimates, the lawmakers said. “During the 2014-2015 disruption at the 29 West Coast ports, our growers were forced to dump spoiled produce, our manufacturers were delayed waiting for unnecessary parts, and our retailers were faced with empty shelves,” the lawmakers said. “The impact was not simply limited to the West Coast, but was ultimately felt by communities across the country and the larger economy. The concerns about this have not stopped. We still hear from our constituents who are worried about business decisions they need to make now for the future and who are still struggling to recover from damaged customer relationships that resulted from the 2014-2015 labor dispute.”

Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker should address possible antidumping duty evasion on washing machines from China through the relocation of production operations, Ohio Sens. Rob Portman (R) and Sherrod Brown (D) said in a letter to Pritzker (here). As soon as the Commerce Department assessed cash deposits in July in connection with its preliminary affirmative AD “critical circumstances” determination that large residential washers made by Samsung and LG from China were being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value (see 1607250010), Samsung reportedly started to move its washing machine production to Vietnam and Thailand, to avoid duties on Chinese washers, Portman and Brown wrote. The senators urged Commerce to uphold “critical circumstances” in its final determination, and to use any other available tool to address the trend of “serial dumping” and duty evasion.

Canadian Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland and Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. David MacNaughton responded to a recent letter from 20 senators to the White House that alleged Canada is “reluctant” to seriously consider a set structure and capped market share for exports of softwood lumber to the U.S. as part of any new Softwood Lumber Agreement (see 1610240034). Freeland and MacNaughton wrote to the Senators that Canada met with U.S. government officials seven times since June, and U.S. Lumber Coalition members twice, and has facilitated three meetings between the U.S. government and Canadian industry. The Canadian government also submitted three papers on approaches for effective management for an agreed-upon market share, the Canadian officials said. President Barack Obama’s and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau released a joint statement in June that described a set of negotiating objectives (see 1606300036).

The Commerce Department should help curb the continuing “onslaught” of U.S. imports of carbon and alloy steel cut-to-length (CTL) plate through some pending proceedings, Congressional Steel Caucus Chairman Tim Murphy, R-Pa., and Vice Chairman Pete Visclosky, D-Ind., wrote in a letter to Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker (here). The letter cites 1 million tons of CTL plate worth more than $700 million imported from 12 countries in 2015, and alludes to a petition by three U.S. manufacturers in April calling for the Commerce Department to impose antidumping and countervailing duties on carbon and alloy steel CTL plate from those nations (see 1604080019). Commerce recently imposed AD duty cash requirements on CTL plate from South Africa, Brazil and Turkey (see 1609210022), and CV duty cash deposits on China (see 1609130025).

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, is “extremely disappointed” in CBP’s decision not to pursue an investigation in response to an allegation filed by Wheatland Tube of antidumping or countervailing duty evasion on steel pipe from China, a spokesperson from Portman’s office said in an Oct. 25 email. A congressional staffer said Portman is “in touch” with Wheatland, which last week said it intended to follow up with Portman and Senate Finance Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., regarding CBP’s “lack of proper implementation of the act” (see 1610190029). Those senators were substantially involved in pushing the inclusion of Enforce and Protect Act provisions creating a new CBP AD/CV duty evasion process within the recently enacted customs reauthorization law. “Petitioners should not have to produce a smoking gun before CBP will investigate claims of duty evasion,” Portman’s spokesperson said. “The Senator is committed to continuing to work ... with CBP to ensure the ENFORCE Act is implemented and followed correctly." CBP and Wyden’s office didn’t comment.

The Canadian American Business Council (CABC) on Oct. 25 urged U.S. House and Senate leaders from both parties to pass legislation during the lame-duck session that would fully implement the 2015 U.S.-Canadian Preclearance Agreement, the CABC said in a press release (here). The March 2015 preclearance agreement authorizes officials from both countries to conduct customs, agriculture and immigration inspections on foreign soil, which is expected to reduce waits at the border, and boost security and trade, the CABC said. A bipartisan group of House and Senate lawmakers on March 1 introduced the Promoting Travel, Commerce, and National Security Act of 2016 that would give the U.S. jurisdiction over prosecutable incidents involving U.S. personnel in Canada, per the terms of the 2015 preclearance agreement (see 1603020015). The CABC noted that the Canadian Parliament is working on its own legislation while the U.S. bill sits idle. "The 2015 US-Canada Preclearance Agreement was an important step forward in expediting legitimate travel and commerce across the border," CABC senior adviser Maryscott Greenwood said. "Congress must now do its part and pass this bipartisan legislation to ensure that the agreement can be fully implemented.” The bills sit dormant in the House and Senate Judiciary committees. A House Judiciary Committee aide said the committee is examining the legislation, but offered no additional details. The office of Senate Judiciary Ranking Member Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who co-introduced the legislation, didn't comment.

Twenty senators wrote to the Obama administration (here) in support of a signing a new U.S.-Canada Softwood Lumber Agreement (SLA) that will limit Canadian lumber exports and bring back stability for industries in both countries. “We understand that the U.S. government has submitted detailed proposals to the Canadian government that would establish an agreement consistent with the terms of the Joint Statement” reached on softwood between Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in June, said the letter, led by Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho. In June, Obama and Trudeau called for any agreement to reflect an agreed-upon market share, provisions to address product scope, remanufacturing, and joint market development issues, and region-specific provisions, if necessary, among other things. “If an agreement cannot be reached with the Canadian government that is fully consistent with these principles and the U.S. lumber industry exercises its rights to file new trade cases, the U.S. trade laws must be fully enforced to respond to subsidized and dumped Canadian lumber imports,” the senators wrote.