The Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces (INFORM) for Consumers Act, introduced March 23, would require online marketplaces to authenticate the identity of high-volume, third-party sellers. Lead sponsors Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., say the act would deter counterfeit sales and prevent shoplifting rings from reselling goods online. Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa; Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii; Thom Tillis, R-N.C.; and Chris Coons, D-Del., are co-sponsors.
A bill that would reverse permanent normal trade relations with China was introduced by Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., and Rick Scott, R-Fla., on March 17. It would require annual presidential approval for most favored nation status, but also would rewrite the Jackson-Vanik Amendment to say countries with trade abuses and human rights abuses would not be permitted to have MFN status. “For twenty years, China has held permanent most-favored-nation status, which has supercharged the loss of American manufacturing jobs. It’s time to protect American jobs and hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable for their forced labor camps and egregious human rights violations,” Cotton said in a press release.
A bill that would increase inspections on imported seafood has been reintroduced, after a 2020 and a 2018 version (see 1806280011) did not get a hearing or a vote in committee. The text of the bill was published March 22. The bill would require that 20% of shipments be inspected annually. If more than three shipments imported failed inspection during a year, imports from that party would be banned for the following year.
A bipartisan bill aiming to prevent shortages of critical goods, such as N95 masks, would authorize $1 billion over five years for the Commerce Department, and would establish an Office of Supply Chain Preparedness in the department. The bill, introduced March 18, would establish a National Guard-style program of manufacturing and supply chain experts who could be deployed to the federal government in times of crisis. The bill is sponsored by Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., Marco Rubio, R-Fla., John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Maggie Hassan, D-N.H.
The chairman and the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee said they want to work together on improving enforcement of America's ban on the importation of goods made with forced labor, with Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, saying, “I'm glad this is an issue we both care deeply about.” They spoke at the beginning of a two-hour hearing on fighting forced labor March 18. Crapo said that Congress should pass the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which would create a rebuttable assumption that goods made in Xinjiang were made with forced labor. Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said CBP needs more resources to enforce the ban. Crapo also said CBP regulation must provide thoughtful guidance “so Americans know how to avoid importing these goods.”
Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, one of the leaders of an effort to give Congress more of a voice in Section 232 tariffs, reintroduced a bipartisan bill with six co-sponsors that would give the Defense Department responsibility for certifying that imports are a national security threat, and would allow Congress to rescind trade restrictions under Section 232 through the use of a joint resolution of disapproval. Portman explained that disapproval is limited to oil restrictions, and that was added to the statute in 1980 “in response to concerns about the misuse of the statute.”
The top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee said he and the committee chairman have not discussed whether renewing the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill is going to have to wait for an infrastructure package to move. “I know [Generalized System of Preferences (GSP)] and MTB are very much on the radar,” Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, told reporters on a March 12 conference call. “We just haven’t gotten a signal about the timing there. Really the COVID stimulus has sucked up all the oxygen at this point.”
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, reintroduced the Global Trade Accountability Act, a bill that would not allow any hike in tariffs, tightening of tariff-rate quotas, or other restrictions on imports to go forward unless the House and Senate approve. Sens. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., co-sponsored the bill, which was first introduced in 2017. Temporary tariffs or quotas would be allowed under a national emergency but would expire after 90 days without congressional approval. “Congress has ceded far too much of its lawmaking power to the executive branch, including the power to unilaterally raise tariffs,” Lee said in a March 11 news release. “Sudden hikes in trade barriers can have real and devastating impacts on American small businesses, farmers, and families, including in my home state of Utah.” Paul said that in “a constitutional republic, tax increases should never be imposed by the whim of one person.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., filed a motion to end debate on the nomination of Katherine Tai to be the next U.S. trade representative, which means a vote will come next week on the floor of the Senate. No date for the vote has been set yet.
Sens. Ben Cardin, D-Md., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, reintroduced a resolution that calls for revisions to the World Trade Organization while also affirming its usefulness. It is a repeat of a resolution introduced in 2020 (see 2007060004). “By identifying the problem and suggesting some potential solutions, this bipartisan resolution is a start to addressing and fixing some of the shortcomings of the WTO in order to support American workers against unfair foreign trade practices and enhance the ability of American farmers, workers, and businesses to access foreign markets,” Portman said in a news release announcing the March 9 introduction. Cardin said the U.S. must lead in maintaining rules-based systems, and reforms are needed for the WTO to succeed.