On March 10, 2011, Representative DeFazio (D)1 sent a letter to Secretary of Transportation LaHood2 requesting additional details regarding the Administration’s plans to allow Mexican trucking companies to operate long haul in the U.S. While DeFazio was pleased that the Administration was engaging Mexico to begin to lift the tariffs Mexico imposed on certain U.S. goods, he is concerned that the U.S. is not launching a pilot program, but rather starting the full liberalization of cross-border trucking.
The following are trade-related highlights of the Executive Communications sent to Congress on March 16-17, 2011:
On March 17, 2011, the following trade-related bills were introduced:
On March 17, 2011, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary reported with amendments S. 193, a bill to extend the sunset of certain provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act.
On March 17, 2011, the House passed and the Senate agreed to a resolution in which the House will stand adjourned until March 29, 2011 and the Senate until March 28, 2011 .
On March 17, 2011, the Senate passed H.J. Res. 48, a continuing resolution (CR) which would fund the federal government at current rates for three weeks -- through April 8, 2011 -- while cutting $6 billion in non-security discretionary spending. The President is expected to sign H.J. Res. 48 before the current CR expires on March 18, 2011. The House passed H.J. Res. 48 on March 15, 2011.
On March 16, 2011, the following trade-related bills were introduced:
The following hearings, markups, or meetings are scheduled for March 17, 2011:
Following a press conference on March 16, 2011, nine Democratic Representatives1, including the Chairman of the House Trade Working Group, issued a statement announcing their opposition to the U.S.-Korea free trade agreement (KORUS FTA). Chief among their criticisms are that the deal would open the U.S. market to North Korean goods, cost U.S. jobs, increase the U.S. trade deficit, make it easier for China to avoid tariffs by transshipping goods through Korea, and devastate the U.S. textile industry.
On March 15, 2011, Democratic Senators Schumer, Stabenow, Casey, and Whitehouse sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Geithner and Secretary of the Interior Salazar urging them to use their power to block Chinese mining projects both abroad and in the U.S. until China agrees to participate fairly in the global trade of rare earth elements (REEs).