International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from June 21-25 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., who introduced a bill a week ago to renew the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program and the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (see 2106170040), said the introduction of a competing bill by the ranking Republicans on the subcommittee and full committee does not alter his assessment of how easy or difficult it will be to move the bills through the House. The Republican bill is largely a copy of the Senate GSP/MTB bill, though there are 60 fewer products in both House MTB lists.
Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, the top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, told reporters during a press conference June 24 that there's strong bipartisan support for bringing back expired Section 301 exclusions, and refunding the tariffs paid since they expired.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from June 14-18 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee expressed disappointment at the Generalized System of Preferences bill introduced by the Trade Subcommittee chairman, so they introduced their own version, which is identical to the amendment that passed the Senate with 91 votes. The bill, introduced June 22 by the top Republicans on the committee and the subcommittee, also renews the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill, but with a few more products removed from the list after additional objections in the House. According to an analysis by Crowell and Moring, the Senate MTB covers 1,423 products, and the House Democrats' version covers 1,363 products. A spokesperson for Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., said the Republican bill covers the same MTB list as the Democrats' bill.
The Generalized System of Preferences benefits program renewal and Miscellaneous Tariff Bill, as revenue bills, must start in the House, and Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., has a distinctly different take on the longstanding programs than the version that recently passed the Senate with 91 votes.
Although the Senate Finance Committee's bipartisan amendment to the China package received 91 votes, some prominent Democrats on trade in the House aren't sure how its provisions could move in their chamber, if Republicans don't agree to calling them up under suspension, which requires a two-thirds vote for passage.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from June 7-11 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, the top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, has expressed optimism that the House can pass a renewal of the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program and the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill that will match the amendment passed in the Senate as part of its China package. However, when asked by International Trade Today on June 11 if the House would include the anti-counterfeiting measures and the request to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to re-open Section 301 exclusions, Brady said he didn't know. He said there's always been bipartisan support for fighting counterfeits, and with regard to the exclusions, "there’s a very strong interest for both chambers and both sides of the aisle," he said.
During a wide-ranging interview on trade with International Trade Today, Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Ind., said she would like to advance Section 232 reform in the House, get the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program and the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill back in place, and, if warranted, weigh in with the U.S. trade representative on USMCA.