Recent trade-related bills introduced in Congress include:
The State Department must immediately implement an aid compact with El Salvador despite the U.S. Trade Representative's concerns over an El Salvadorian government policy on seed procurement, said 16 Democratic House members in a recent letter to Secretary of State John Kerry. The procurement policy is part of the government’s food security efforts, said the letter. “El Salvador’s domestic food security program should neither impact the terms of the compact, nor should the U.S. use it to unduly pressure El Salvador,” said the letter, spearheaded by Reps. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., and Mike Honda, D-Calif. El Salvador's seed procurement policy promotes self-sufficiency by sourcing seeds from small-scale domestic producers, said dozens of agricultural, activist and other organizations in a July 3 letter to Kerry (here). “Furthermore, the State Department’s invocation of CAFTA demonstrates that our concerns about free trade agreements -- including unfair competition from subsidized U.S. agriculture and incursions into national sovereignty -- are well-founded, thus necessitating our continued opposition to CAFTA and its implementation.”
Legislation designed to create a national hiring standard for motor carriers would give increased safeguards to brokers and forwarders that coordinate the hiring of motor vehicles for the movement of cargo, said the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) in a July 1 letter to Rep. John Duncan, R-Tenn., the sponsor of the legislation. The bill, H.R. 4727, was introduced in May, and has three additional cosponsors. The measure would create a safe harbor from liability for shippers, brokers, forwarders and receivers as long as they verify each motor carrier they hire is registered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, has obtained the minimum insurance, and has not been given an "unsatisfactory" rating.
Recent trade-related bills introduced in Congress include:
The Food and Drug Administration again denied charges that it aims to implement a ban on aging cheese on wood shelves, in a June 26 letter to Rep. Peter Welch, D-N.Y. The agency has backtracked in recent weeks on a pronouncement it made in January that asserted wood shelves do not comply with legal hygiene standards (see 14061118). Welch criticized the supposed ban on the use of wooden shelves, planning to tack on an amendment to House agriculture appropriations legislation to prohibit funds for enforcement of any ban. The House adjourned debate on the legislation on June 11 before Welch could file the amendment, and has not resumed consideration of the bill (see 14061220). “The focus in ensuring the safety of cheese should be on the overall hygienic practices and conditions in the cheesemaking facility and not on just one element, such as shelving,” said the letter, signed by FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine, Michael Taylor. “There is no requirement or prohibition in FDA’s regulations that specifically addresses wooden shelving.” The FDA issued a similar clarification on June 11 (see 14061219). The letter to Welch said equipment that contacts food must merely be “adequately cleanable” and “properly maintained.”
Congress should enact legislation that provides Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack the authority to “suspend indefinitely” country of origin labeling (COOL) regulations for muscle cuts of meat after final World Trade Organization (WTO) adjudication in the ongoing dispute with Canada and Mexico, said more than 60 agriculture, manufacturing and other organizations in a June 26 letter to House and Senate agriculture committee leaders. If the WTO sides with Canada and Mexico, the body would award the two countries the right to retaliate against U.S. products.
Rep. Steve Southerland, R-Fla., introduced on June 24 legislation, HR-4955, that would extend certain duty free preferences in the U.S.-Bahrain free trade agreement (FTA) slated to expire at the end of 2015. The FTA provides duty-free preferences to U.S. imports of certain cotton and man-made fiber fabric wholly formed in Bahrain from yarn produced or obtained outside the territory of Bahrain or the U.S., as well as certain cotton or man-made fiber “made up” goods that are cut or knit to shape and sewn or otherwise assembled in Bahrain from fabric wholly formed in Bahrain or the U.S. deriving from yarn produced or obtained outside Bahrain or the U.S. The legislation would extend the preferences through Dec. 31, 2025. The FTA permits duty-free annual import of such products up to 65 million square meters equivalent.
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved on June 26 fiscal year (FY) 2015 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) legislation that provides $12.57 billion for CBP, which represents a $480 million increase from FY14 appropriations, the committee said. The bill appropriates funds for 1,000 new CBP officers, in part to facilitate trade at the 329 ports of entry. Some lawmakers and union officials previously called for an additional 2,000 officers in FY15 legislation (see 14060515). The legislation also includes provisions on CBP duty collection and antidumping and countervailing duty enforcement, said the committee without elaboration. The committee has not yet released the bill text. The Senate legislation appropriates $47.2 billion for DHS in total. The House advanced counterpart legislation on June 11 (see 14061218).
Correction: Republicans on the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs argued that a ban on commercial ivory products could contribute to poaching by preventing African and Asian governments from accessing conservation funds (see 14062524).
Recent trade-related bills introduced in Congress include: