The American Soybean Association (ASA) and National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) “put Congress on notice” that the trade groups will keep pushing for Trans-Pacific Partnership’s approval during its upcoming lame-duck session, according to a press release from the groups (here). The groups provided a new document (here) to congressional staff on the TPP's expected benefits to U.S. soybean farmers as part of that effort. “Prospects for passage of TPP are dim, with both presidential candidates opposed, and a crowded lame duck congressional calendar,” the release says. “ASA and NOPA aren’t giving up, however.” U.S. soybean farmers will boost sales of soybean meal for animal feed because of a big increase in sales of poultry, pork, beef and dairy to TPP markets, and through better market access for soy products, after the deal enters into force, ASA President Richard Wilkins said in a statement. The organizations “are confident” the document “helps to provide some weight” to the national TPP debate in support of the agreement, according to the release.

House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Dave Reichert, R-Wash., and Reps. Peter Roskam, R-Ill.; Juan Vargas, D-Calif.; and Grace Meng, D-N.Y., in a letter urged U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman to oppose Iran’s bid to join the World Trade Organization (here). They said it would empower the country’s “tyrannical” regime, and hinder the U.S.’s ability to counter Iran’s terrorism support, human rights violations and ballistic missile program. “Following the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the EU, the UK, and Switzerland have formally announced support for Iranian membership to the WTO; Oman, India, and other member nations have expressed a similar sentiment,” the lawmakers said. “The U.S. has historically pushed back against Iranian accession to this global body.” Iran’s accession to the WTO could constrain the U.S. from imposing economic sanctions, and the U.S. shouldn’t have to defend its Iran sanctions actions there, the lawmakers said. The letter requests information on current U.S. policy toward Iranian accession to the WTO, any associated activities the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative might be taking, Iran’s desired accession timeline and whether the U.S. intends to block Iranian accession.

After Panama’s Supreme Court ordered Bridgestone to pay $5.4 million in fines following the company’s challenge of a trademark application in the country, Ohio Sens. Rob Portman (R) and Sherrod Brown (D) pushed U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman to ensure Bridgestone can seek an appropriate remedy. A Sept. 30 letter from Portman and Brown also expresses concern about whether Panama’s punitive approach could result in similar responses to other companies’ efforts to protect intellectual property rights (here). “Companies and their workers should not be punished for acting consistently with the law,” Portman said in a statement. “The Administration has a duty to protect Bridgestone and its workers by ensuring that this fine does not stand."

China’s alleged oversupply of aluminum presents an “unrelenting” threat to U.S. producers of the metal, and the International Trade Commission should closely review filings in its ongoing aluminum investigation to reveal foreign government policies that hurt U.S. industry’s ability to compete, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in submitted testimony to ITC Chairman Irving Williamson and Vice Chairman David Johanson (here). Schumer also called on the Obama administration and future presidents to aggressively enforce antidumping and countervailing duty orders, and to continue bilateral and multilateral engagement to address China’s overcapacity. “Numerous diplomatic efforts to address aluminum overcapacity have not resulted in any commitments by China to cut their net aluminum capacity,” Schumer said. “We must do all that we can, th[r]ough diplomacy and strong enforcement tools, to make sure that foreign producers’ predatory practices do not cause future layoffs or plant closures.” In a letter led by Ohio Sens. Rob Portman (R) and Sherrod Brown (D), a bipartisan group of 12 senators told President Barack Obama that a dialogue-only approach won’t succeed in eliminating the global oversupply of steel, and said trade enforcement should be a major part of addressing the issue, while acknowledging that ongoing diplomatic talks are important (see 1610030041).

Lawmakers recently introduced the following trade-related bills:

The EU must work more diligently with the U.S. to negotiate a comprehensive, high-standard Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership for the deal to pass Congress, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, said in a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman (here). U.S. and EU officials are undertaking the 15th round of negotiations in New York Oct. 3-7.

Twelve senators wrote a bipartisan letter (here) urging President Barack Obama to continue efforts to secure Chinese commitments to reduce its steel capacity to an acceptable level, after meetings this year of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development Steel Committee, U.S.-China Steel Dialogue, and Strategic and Economic Dialogue produced no definitive assurances. Led by Ohio Sens. Rob Portman (R) and Sherrod Brown (D), the senators said a dialogue-only approach won’t succeed in eliminating the global oversupply of steel, and said trade enforcement should be a major part of addressing the issue, while acknowledging that ongoing diplomatic talks are important.

Trade agreements’ impacts on the federal budget are unclear, but they yield small positive impacts on total U.S. trade and the U.S. economy, according to a study by the Congressional Budget Office (here). The U.S. has negotiated deals with mostly much smaller economies, and tariffs and other barriers were already limited when the agreements entered into force, CBO said. Trade deals have had minimal effects on the U.S. trade balance, and have spurred more U.S. investment in member countries’ economies, which has helped catalyze foreign direct investment into the U.S., CBO said. Empirical estimates show that the agreements have had small, positive effects on U.S. productivity, output and employment, CBO said. “But those estimates are uncertain and may be understated, because the effects of nontariff provisions are hard to measure and because issues with data keep researchers from identifying how [Preferential Trade Agreements] affect the service sector," CBO said.

Forty-one House lawmakers on Sept. 28 sent a bipartisan letter urging U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman ensure bilateral negotiations over Canadian softwood lumber shipments result in imports being capped at an established U.S. market share (here). Led by Reps. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., and Ryan Zinke, R-Mont. (see 1608050022), the letter said ongoing Softwood Lumber Agreement (SLA) negotiations should secure fair competition for U.S. industry, even if negotiations were to run past Oct. 13, the date a one-year reprieve on trade cases involving Canadian softwood imports will end. The last bilateral Softwood Lumber Agreement, which lapsed in October 2015, dictated a full-year ban on trade cases following its expiration. Froman and Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Matthew Vogel will meet in Toronto Oct. 5 with Canadian Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland and Canadian softwood lumber industry representatives in hopes of concluding a new deal, since the last bilateral Softwood Lumber Agreement has expired. Freeland said Canada is preparing for possible litigation, in case no deal is secured by Oct. 13 (see 1609160015).

The House passed the Water Resources Development Act of 2016 on Sept. 28, sending the legislation (here) to conference after the Senate passed its version of the bill on Sept. 15 (see 1609150071). The House version differs from the Senate version in the treatment of the Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT), among other things. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee didn’t comment. The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) called for a speedy resolution of the differences "We urge the Senate and the House to reach agreement as quickly as possible on a final bill, enabling the federal government to uphold its end of the partnership by authorizing badly needed investments to waterside connections with seaports.”