The looming expiration of a tariff elimination program for Nicaraguan apparel, put into effect through the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), may soon influence U.S. importer decision-making on sourcing of apparel from the country, said a bipartisan group of six House lawmakers in a recent letter to House Ways and Means and Senate Finance leadership. Due to expire on Dec. 31, 2014, the program permits duty-free import of Nicaraguan apparel regardless of the origin of the fabrics and yarns, according to the letter.
The Senate on March 13 approved Arun Kumar as assistant secretary of the Commerce Department and director general of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service. The Senate on the same day also approved Puneet Talwar to be assistant secretary of the State Department for political and military affairs, a position that oversees export controls. The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation voted in favor of the Kumar nomination in January (see 14011410), The Senate Finance Committee passed the Talwar nomination onto the full Senate in February (see 14020502).
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, listed trade-related legislation as top priorities for 2014 in a March 13 weekly press conference. “We’ve got a highway bill that we have to reauthorize sometime this year. You got the terrorism risk insurance program that has to be reauthorized. You’ve got the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank,” said Boehner. Funding allocation for the Federal Highway Trust Fund, provided in the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, expires at the end of Fiscal Year 2014 (FY14). Democratic lawmakers have recently pushed for renewal (see 14012201). Democratic House members also have pressed renewal of the Export-Import Bank, a program that will expire at the end of FY14 (see 14021018). A spokesman declined to comment.
The House Energy and Commerce leadership named Paul Nagle chief counsel for the Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade subcommittee, the committee said on March 14 in a press release. Nagle previously served as counsel to the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation committee, where he focused on consumer protection. Nagle replaces Gib Mullan, who is leaving for the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2014, introduced on March 14 by a bipartisan group of senators, would extend certain customs user fees on commercial goods from September 2023 to September 2024 in order to offset the cost of providing unemployment insurance. The fees were originally designated in the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985.
New lobbyist registrations on trade-related issues include:
Recent trade-related bills introduced in Congress include:
The Obama Administration should push back against European Union (EU) efforts to restrict U.S. cheese exports by mandating geographical indication (GI) regulations on imported cheese, said Sens. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. and others in a March 11 to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman. Through the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, the EU may attempt to impose restrictions on common cheese names, such as feta and Parmesan, by determining those cheeses must have particular geographic origins. “In the states that we represent, many small or medium-sized family owned farms and firms could have their business unfairly restricted by the EU's push to use geographical indications as a barrier to dairy trade and competition,” said the joint letter. “As we begin to engage in TTIP negotiations that are ultimately intended to bring about a better economic climate on both sides of the Atlantic by lowering barriers to trade, we strongly oppose the EU's gratuitous use of GIs as a protectionist measure.”
Recent trade-related bills introduced in Congress include:
The Trade Adjustment Assistance Act (TAA) of 2014, introduced on March 6, would provide a critical lifeline to those U.S. domestic workers adversely affected by trade, said the bill sponsors in a press release. Although portions of the existing TAA legislation remain in effect, the entirety of the law will expire by the end of 2014, said sponsor and House Ways and Means ranking member Sander Levin, D-Mich., along with several other House Democratic sponsors. “It is urgent that we reinstate the full TAA program for dislocated workers who are building new careers for themselves,” said Levin. “As we seek to fully benefit from globalization we must maintain structures that allow us to address its challenges for the workers and firms who are prepared to compete when they are given the tools to do so.” The legislation would provide training and support for U.S. manufacturing, service, farming, and fishing sector workers, said the joint release. The bill would extend the TAA program through 2020, according to the text (here). Many Democratic lawmakers in both the House and Senate have demanded TAA renewal in order to consider Trade Promotion Authority (see 14011013).