International Trade Today is a service of Warren Communications News.
Subscriber Login
Congress
to
Refine Category Search
Clear Terms

Search Primer

Multi-word term: Place inside quotes to ensure an exact match together (e.g. "forced labor").

Term list: Separate terms with spaces, not commas or semicolons to find either word (e.g. AD/CVD CBP).

Acronyms: Use all capital letters (e.g., ACE).

Required term: If a term must be included in any resulting articles, prefix it with a plus sign (e.g., tariffs +Canada).

Excluded term: If a term should be excluded from any articles being found, prefix it with a minus sign (e.g., FDA -alert).

Simplest form: Use the simplest form of a term (e.g. "metal" instead of "metals" or "entity list" instead of "entity listing" or "entity listed").

Yellen Declines to Directly Address TPP Currency Impacts During Hearing
February 12, 2014 by Brian Dabbs|Congress

Rep. Gary Peters, D-Mich is concerned with giving Trade Promotion Authority for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and will oppose such legislation unless currency manipulation is addressed in strong, enforceable fashion, he said during a Feb. 11 hearing. The House Committee on Financial Services hearing, focused on monetary policy, included testimony from new Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen. Peters cited recent Census Bureau statistics that show the 2013 deficit with South Korea was the highest on record, at $20.7 billion, after two years of the U.S.-South Korea free-trade agreement (here).

CATO Analyst Says Recent TPA Poll is Misleading
February 11, 2014 by Brian Dabbs|Congress

The widely-reported recent poll that suggests strong public opposition to Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) contained deceptive and insufficient information and, therefore, likely produced flawed findings, said CATO Institute director of Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies, Dan Ikenson, in a Feb. 10 blog post. Commissioned by three groups that publicly oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the Communication Workers of America, the Sierra Club and the U.S. Business and Industry Council, the poll questions focus only on the fast-track methods to secure TPP, says Ikenson. The poll results claim 62 percent of Americans oppose the use of TPA fast-track mechanisms to pass TPP implementation legislation (see 14020310).

Baucus Senate Replacement to Start Feb. 11
February 11, 2014 by Brian Dabbs|Congress

Vice President Joe Biden will swear in Montana Democratic Lt. Gov. John Walsh to the Senate on Feb. 11 to replace outgoing Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont, the White House said. The Senate voted 96-0 to confirm Baucus’ bid for the role of China ambassador on Feb. 6, and Baucus subsequently resigned from the Senate (see 14020702). Montana Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock appointed Walsh to fill the Senate seat, until the November election. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., is widely expected to take over the Finance committee as Chairman. Wyden's office didn't return a request for comment.

House Members Call for Ex-Im Bank Reauthorization Hearing
February 10, 2014 by Brian Dabbs|Congress

Twenty-six Democratic members of the House Financial Services Committee asked the committee leadership in a Feb. 6 letter to hold a hearing on Export-Import Bank reauthorization. The program is set to expire on Sept. 30. The program provides vital support to U.S. businesses trying to reach out to foreign markets, said the House members in the letter to Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, and Subcommittee on Monetary Policy and Trade Chairman John Campbell, R-Calif. “U.S. businesses that rely on the various export credit services that the Bank provides need certainty in the reauthorization process for long-term business planning purposes. We believe that committee action on reauthorization serves the best interest of the United States and the workers whose jobs the Export-Import Bank supports in all of our districts,” said the letter. “We believe Congress can reach a bipartisan reauthorization agreement, as we have consistently done in the past that meets the overall objective of supporting U.S. exports and jobs.”

Senate Confirms Baucus with Widespread Support, Departure Schedule Unclear
February 7, 2014 by Brian Dabbs|Congress

The Senate voted 96-0 on Feb. 6 to advance the nomination of Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., for China Ambassador. Three Republican Senators declined to vote. A Baucus spokesman said he was unsure when the chairman will depart the Senate and be sworn in the ambassador role.

Manufacturers Press for Immediate MTB Renewal
February 6, 2014 by Brian Dabbs|Congress

U.S. manufacturers are suffering from more than 400 days of expired Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) legislation, said National Association of Manufacturers Director of International Trade Policy, Jessica Lemos, in a Feb. 4 blog post (here). “The MTB enacted in 2010 was estimated to support 90,000 jobs, increase U.S. production by $4.6 billion and expand U.S. GDP by $3.5 billion,” said Lemos. “Failure to pass a new MTB will result in a staggering $748 million tax hike on manufacturing over the next three years. This translates into a whopping $1.857 billion in economic losses.” Lemos urged quick congressional action to renew the legislation.