Senate and House lawmakers released the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) conference report on May 15 after more than seven months of negotiations. The report targets full use by 2025 of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) for harbor maintenance and dredging, with annual increases in use over the next ten years. Only half of the $1.8 billion paid by users and collectors into the fund annually is currently dedicated towards maintenance and dredging. The Senate and House still have to approve the report, before President Barack Obama can sign the bill into law.
The House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee recently hired Nasim Deylami as counsel to work on customs issues for committee Republicans, said a Ways and Means Committee spokeswoman. Deylami most recently worked as a customs lawyer at General Motors (see 13082313) and at the U.S. Council of International Business before that.
Recent trade-related bills introduced in Congress include:
Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., submitted an amendment to H.R. 3474 (here) on May 14 that would extend a duty-free apparel program with Nicaragua. The program is due to expire at the end of the 2014 calendar year. The Hagan amendment would extend the program for 10 years from Jan. 1, 2015. Many industry officials staunchly support the program, claiming its expiration will devastate supply chains (see [14050223]). The program permits initial duty-free import of up to 50,000 square meter equivalents of eligible apparel articles for the 2015 calendar year, but allows for increases in subsequent years. The program was originally put into law through the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement.
The expansion of civil litigation options for owners of trade secrets that allege their intellectual property has been infringed, a component of the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2014, would benefit U.S. firms of all sizes, said President of Marlin Steel Wire Products Drew Greenblatt in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism on May 13. The legislation (here) was formally introduced on May 12 by Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. Trade secrets include everything from manufacturing formulas to clientele databases.
Lawmakers should pass the GSP Update for Production Diversification and Trade Enforcement (Update) Act in order to incorporate travel goods into the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, said more than a dozen industry officials in a recent letter. The letter was sent to Senate Finance and House Ways and Means Committee leadership. Sens, Mark Begich, D-Alaska, and Roy Blunt, R-Mo., introduced the legislation in December 2013, while House members introduced a companion bill months prior (see 13121820).
Recent trade-related bills introduced in Congress include:
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s refusal to broach currency manipulation in Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations jeopardizes congressional support for Trade Promotion Authority, said Rep. Michael Michaud, D-Maine, in a May 7 letter to President Barack Obama. U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman admitted before the Senate Finance Committee earlier this month his office is not currently pushing currency rules in TPP negotiations (see 14050123). “This is deeply troubling news and signals to me that our trade negotiators do not have the best interests of the American workers at heart,” said Michaud. “All the ‘consulting’ in the world doesn’t mean a thing if you are simply going to ignore what Congress is telling you.” Froman said in testimony USTR has held over 1,200 consultation sessions with Congress on the TPP. Majorities in both congressional chambers have demanded currency rules in U.S. free trade agreements (see 13092423).
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee leadership introduced on May 12 the MAP-21 Reauthorization Act (here), which would fund Federal-aid highway programs for six years at current funding plus inflation. The committee will mark up the legislation on May 15, according to a press release. Senate Finance Committee leadership recently emphasized the urgent need for funding legislation, but Finance Committee ranking member Orrin Hatch, R-Utah., criticized recommendations for corporate tax increases as a means to finance the Highway Trust Fund program (see 14050625).
House and Senate conferees brokered compromise in recent days on critical water resources legislation after more than six months of negotiations, according to a joint statement (here). The two sides bridged gaps between the Senate Water Resources and Development Act (WRDA) and House Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA), bills that target port and waterway infrastructure development. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee leadership conferred on the legislation.