The House and Senate appropriations subcommittees for agriculture considered on May 20 draft bills for agriculture funding in fiscal year 2015 that contain similar overall funding levels. Neither chamber amended the bills, opting to allow the amendment process to take place during full committee mark ups. The House draft legislation (here), released on May 19, provides $142.5 billion in total funding for the Agriculture Department, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and related agencies, including $20.9 billion in discretionary funding (see 14051919).
The House passed the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) with overwhelming support on May 20, following the release of the bill’s conference report in recent days (see 14051612). Four Republican House members opposed the legislation. The Senate is due to vote on the measure on May 22. The report aims to put into law mandates for full use of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) for harbor maintenance and dredging by 2025, with annual increases in use over the next 10 years.
Recent trade-related bills introduced in Congress include:
The Senate Appropriations Committee leadership should resist expected Senate attempts to weaken country-of-origin labeling (COOL) regulations during mark up of Agriculture appropriations legislation on May 20, said more than 170 environmental, labor and other advocacy organizations. The organizations urged Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., and ranking member Richard Shelby, R-Ala., to prevent any legislative changes to COOL, claiming the regulations protect consumers. “There is no need to halt enforcement of COOL. Congress intended to maintain the current COOL labels when it refused to accept a provision that would have hamstrung COOL as part of the 2014 Farm Bill,” said the letter. “We ask that you follow the leadership of the Senate Agriculture Committee in opposing any changes to COOL at this juncture.” The COOL law is currently being challenged at the World Trade Organization by Canada and Mexico. COOL opponents claim the retention of the law in the Farm Bill will encourage retaliation (see 14012930).
The fiscal year 2015 (FY15) appropriations legislation (here) for the departments of Commerce and Justice, along with related agencies, advanced (here) through the House Rules Committee on May 19, and was reported to the House floor. The bill, introduced on May 15 by Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., slightly boosts funding for the International Trade Administration and Bureau of Industry and Security. The legislation also significantly increases allocations for the Census Bureau.
The House Committee on Ways and Means asked the U.S. International Trade Commission on May 15 to conduct an investigation into current market conditions the U.S. rice industry faces globally. The committee is requesting an overview of both the U.S. rice industry and industries in other major global producing countries such as China, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Uruguay, and Brazil. Committee Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., asked for the results of the general fact finding investigation by April 2015. The U.S. has contested Turkish (here) and Belgian (here) import restrictions on U.S. rice exports in recent years.
Vietnamese seafood exports to the U.S. often contain illegal veterinary medicines, fungicides and other chemicals, said several House lawmakers in recent days, calling for binding mechanisms in the Trans-Pacific Partnership to address the risks. Reps. Walter Jones, R-N.C., Rick Crawford, R-Ariz., Steve Stockman, R-Texas and Mike McIntyre, D-N.C., argued in a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman the TPP agreement should also mandate assessment of U.S. injury resulting from dumped Vietnamese products. The Vietnamese have illegally dumped shrimp and catfish exports into the U.S. market, placing U.S. shrimpers and catfish farmers at a competitive disadvantage, said the lawmakers. Moreover, Chinese firms are using Vietnam as a conduit for seafood exports to the U.S. market to avoid U.S. duties, said the letter.
The House Appropriations Committee would boost total funding for the Food and Drug Administration it its fiscal year 2015 Agriculture Appropriations draft bill, released on May 19. The draft legislation would provide total FDA funding, including revenue generated through user fees, of $4.4 billion, $98 million above fiscal year 2014 enacted levels, said the committee. The legislation roughly replicates the 2014 funding level for the Food Safety and Inspection Service. The draft legislation provides $142.5 billion in both discretionary and mandatory appropriations. That figure represents a $3 billion decrease from the fiscal year 2014 enacted level, according to the committee.
More than 175 House lawmakers asked Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman to remove dairy trade barriers in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Lawmakers circulated the letter in the House originally in mid-April (see 14042201).
The Commerce Department should slap antidumping duties on South Korean oil country tubular goods (OCTG) imports to the “fullest extent of the law” in its final determination, said 56 Senators led by Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Rob Portman, R-Ohio in a May 15 letter. Commerce preliminarily determined in February that South Korean companies did not dump the goods into the U.S. market. The final determination is currently due July 10.