The Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities Act fails to provide for congressional consultation and oversight in trade negotiations, doesn't improve access to negotiating information and lacks strong mechanisms that mandate negotiating objectives are fulfilled, said a group of 12 Democratic Senators in a Jan. 15 letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. The letter preceded a Jan. 16 hearing on the legislation, regarded as the 2014 iteration of Trade Promotion Authority (see 14011616). The inclusion of Trade Adjustment Assistance in an omnibus final bill is positive, said the letter, but the legislation must improve provisions that strengthen U.S. industry.
The House Commerce Committee will increase its focus on data security and cross-border data flows, said Vice Chairwoman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., at a Technology Policy Institute event Jan. 15. The free flow of data between the U.S. and EU is important, as the two governments continue to negotiate the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), said Blackburn. “We would hope that it’s not a trade barrier,” she said. “But we are certainly aware that there is maybe a little bit of jealousy, if you will, with the encouragement to innovate here.”
The Finance Committee unanimously approved on Jan. 15 the nominations of Rhonda Schmidtlein to the U.S. International Trade Commission and Sarah Raskin to be deputy secretary of the Treasury Department, the committee said in a statement. The vote took place off the Senate floor, with Senator Pat Toomey, R-Pa., voting by proxy, said a committee spokesman.
Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) approval is critical for making progress on the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations, said Peter Robinson, CEO of the US Council of International Business (USCIB) in a speech to the International Trade Association of Greater Chicago. Senate Finance Committee leadership and House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., introduced TPA legislation on Jan. 9 (see 14011013).
The U.S. should recommit resources to border infrastructure in order to increase efficiency in cross border commerce with Canada and Mexico, said House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere Chairman Matt Salmon, R-Ariz., at a Jan. 15 hearing titled “NAFTA at Twenty: Accomplishments, Challenges, and the Way Forward on Intellectual Property.” North American economies are poised for continued growth but insecure Mexican border regions and weak Canadian Intellectual Property (IP) rights protection, among other concerns, are impeding the achievement of maximum commercial potential, said Salmon.
CBP continues to fail to collect vast sums of potential revenue in import duties on certain Chinese agriculture and seafood products that entered the U.S. since 2002, along with associated bonds posted on the imports, said Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., at the Jan. 15 Finance Committee hearing on the nomination of Gil Kerlikowske for CBP Commissioner (see 14011521).
Recently introduced legislation that would provide for "fast track" approval of trade agreements would allow Congress to "abdicate" its role in such agreements, potentially putting the health of Americans at risk, a number of health groups said in a letter to the Senate and House of Representatives. If passed, the Trade Priorities Act of 2014, introduced Jan. 9 (see 14011013), would "set a dangerous standard for public health and for our democracy," said the groups, which include the American Public Health Association and Center for Policy Analysis on Trade and Health.
Recent trade-related bills introduced in Congress include:
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation gave its approval for the nomination of Arun Kumar to be assistant secretary for Trade Promotion and director general of the Foreign Commercial Service at the Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration, the committee said in a Jan. 13 press release. Committee officials also confirmed six other officials for posts throughout the Obama Administration. President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Kumar in early October (see 13100707).
Senate Finance Committee officials will vote on Jan. 15 Rhonda Schmidtlein's nomination as a member of the U.S. International Trade Commission. Finance officials will also vote on the nomination of Sarah Raskin for deputy secretary of the Treasury. Schmidtlein and Raskin testified before the Finance Committee on Nov. 20 (see 13112112). The votes will take place during a Finance hearing to consider the nomination of Gil Kerlikowske for CBP commissioner, along with two other nominations (see 14011304).