Should Congress match the President’s fiscal year 2015 budget request for the Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank, the bank’s six largest credit programs would generate a negative or zero budgetary cost according to Fair Credit Reform Act methodology, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said in recent days (here). The CBO said its estimates could be understated, however, because they exclude the Ex-Im Bank’s administrative costs from subsidy cash flows. The CBO also cautioned that its methods used to assess risk premiums are not precise.
The full Senate Appropriations Committee approved fiscal year 2015 agriculture appropriations legislation on May 22 with several amendments, according to the committee. The committee is unable to disclose the amendments, but they will be made public in a few days, said the spokeswoman. The legislation is now sent to the Senate floor. The Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Related Agencies approved the draft bill without debate two days before (see 14052107). Lawmakers have yet to release the legislation.
The Senate passed the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) conference report on May 22 by an overwhelming 91-7 vote. The House passed the legislation with similarly strong support two days prior (see 14052117). The legislation is now sent to President Barack Obama’s desk, and will likely be signed into law in the coming days. “Our bill invests in vital water infrastructure that protects communities from flooding, maintains navigation routes for commerce and the movement of goods, restores vital ecosystems and provides a boost to our economy by creating jobs,” said Chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., a legislation conferee. The bill authorizes priority infrastructure projects recommended to Congress by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The legislation also aims to put into law mandates for full use of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund for harbor maintenance and dredging by 2025, with annual increases in use over the next 10 years.
Ongoing CBP problems with the collection of antidumping and countervailing duties, coupled with the agency’s inability to monitor illegal transshipments, continues to impede the growth of the U.S. garment hanger industry and other U.S. manufacturing, said M & B Metal Products President Milton Magnus in May 22 testimony before the House Small Business Subcommittee on Trade. Despite the Commerce Department’s decision in 2008 to impose duties of up to 187 percent on Chinese wire hangers, CBP has proven incapable of reining in Chinese dumping and circumvention of rules of origin requirements, Magnus said in written testimony.
Recent trade-related bills introduced in Congress include:
Products that entered duty-free under the Generalized System of Preferences accounted for only a small amount of total Russian exports to the U.S., said the Congressional Research Service (CRS) in a May 19 report. GSP-eligible ferrosilicon, chromium and ferrochromium, radial tires, ceramics for laboratory use, along with aluminum wire, alloy bars, and rods accounted for 2 percent of total Russian exports to the U.S. in 2012, it said. President Barack Obama earlier this month announced his intent to remove Russia from the preference program, citing economic development (see 14050805). The inclusion of Russia in the program has generated debate over recent years, with some industry officials challenging Russian protection of intellectual property rights commitments. The preference program continues to face an uphill climb as lawmakers struggle to find a vehicle to advance trade legislation (see 14032429). The program expired on July 31, 2013 (see 13080110). The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative pushed for Myanmar and Laos to be included in the program prior to expiration (here), said CRS, but expiration prevented any administrative additions.
The Senate Finance Committee approved by unanimous voice vote the nominations of Darci Vetter as chief agricultural negotiator at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and Stefan Selig to be under secretary for international trade at the Commerce Department on May 21. The two nominees testified before the committee on May 8 (see 14050904). The full Senate will now have to consider the nominations.
The House Appropriations Committee approved a fiscal year 2015 (FY15) Transportation, Housing and Urban Development draft funding bill on May 21, according to the committee. The draft legislation would fund the Federal Maritime Commission at nearly $25.5 million, representing a bump of almost $1 million in appropriations from FY14 levels. The draft would also increase Federal Aviation Administration funding to $9.75 billion from the FY14 enacted level of $9.65. The FY15 draft legislation would keep funding at $259 million for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and $134 million for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the same levels as in FY 2014.
Correction: The full Senate Appropriations Committee will mark up agriculture appropriations legislation on May 22 (see 14051926). The Senate Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies considered the bill on May 20.
The congressional fight over reauthorization of the Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank is poised to continue in the coming weeks, as the House Financial Services Committee leadership again traded jabs on May 20 on the merits of the bank. The Ex-Im Bank’s charter will expire at the end of the current fiscal year on Sept. 30. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, said in a speech at the Heritage Foundation the bank’s loans most significantly benefit the largest multinational corporations, including General Electric, Ford and Boeing.