U.S. free trade agreements are giving U.S. producers and consumers far easier access to global inputs as well as foreign markets, and the U.S. must stay committed to closing the Trans-Pacific Partnership and other trade pacts, said the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in a trade report released on Feb. 12 (here). U.S. FTAs are integrating U.S. industry into a global supply chain, while boosting domestic manufacturing, said the report. U.S. agriculture is also reaping the benefits of U.S. FTAs through increasing exports abroad, the chamber said.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Feb. 2-6 in case they were missed.
Lawmakers introduced the following trade-related bills since International Trade Today's last legislative update:
As Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., takes on his second month as House Ways and Means chairman, his top priority is wrapping up talks on free trade agreements and putting those pacts into force, Ryan said in a Feb. 5 speech at the Washington International Trade Association. Ryan urged countries involved in Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations to either meet U.S. expectations for trade barrier removals or join the talks at a later time, a statement couched in criticism toward both Canadian and Japanese reluctance to slash agricultural duties and regulatory restrictions.
A bipartisan group of senators and two Republican House members introduced legislation on Feb. 3 to expand Generalized System of Preferences coverage to luggage and other travel goods. The GSP Update for Production Diversification and Trade Enhancement Act (GSP UPDATE Act) would allow U.S. companies to import duty-free a wide range of products, from some trunks and suitcases to products that fit in handbags, by carving out more than two dozen tariff lines in the harmonized schedule.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Jan. 26 - Feb. 1:
The White House launched this year’s budget request process on Feb. 2 (here), including almost $100 million to improve inspection equipment at U.S. ports of entry to help promote trade, said the White House (here). Lawmakers will now have to rally together in the coming months to formulate budget legislation. The proposal also seeks funds for the extension the Generalized System of Preferences and the African Growth and Opportunity Act. The White House also asked for funds to promote European trade integration, in the face of continued Russian aggression in Ukraine.
The U.S. Fashion Industry Association called for the “immediate” renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, the Generalized System of Preferences and tariff preference levels for U.S.-Nicaragua garment trade through the Central American Free Trade Agreement in a Jan. 27 letter to leaders of the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees (here). AGOA is due to expire at the end of the current fiscal year, while GSP expired in July 2013 and the CAFTA Nicaragua provisions lapsed on Dec. 31, 2014. USFIA President Julia Hughes also urged for CBP's "speedy implementation" of the apparel, footwear and textile Center of Excellence and Expertise. The group also voiced support for the development of the International Trade Data System.
Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, pledged to introduce a Trade Promotion Authority bill in the “next month or two” during a Jan. 30 speech at the American Enterprise Institute (here). The legislation will mostly mirror the TPA bill he, and others, co-sponsored in the last Congress, Hatch said. He championed strong intellectual property, currency and congressional consultation rules in the bill. Hatch also emphasized the need to pass renewal bills for the Generalized System of Preferences, the African Growth and Opportunity Act and the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill.
Many Democrats on Capitol Hill are reserving judgment on Trade Promotion Authority, and are still potential supporters of the legislation once it surfaces in the coming days and weeks, John Murphy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce senior vice president for International Policy, told reporters on Jan. 28. Murphy declined to comment on how the whip count is shaping up for TPA support, but he said the trade group is optimistic the bill will pass with bipartisan support.