Senate and House trade leaders are beginning to negotiate over a compromise payment mechanism in the Senate-passed preference package and its House counterpart, said a Senate Finance Committee aide on June 9. House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said in recent days the preference packages will go to legislative conference over the different offsets (see 1506040066).
Trade legislation may hit the House floor for votes in the final days of this week, House Republican leadership indicated early on June 10. Several trade lobbyists said lawmakers could pass the four trade bills by June 12. The House Rules Committee scheduled a June 10 vote on the rules for all four bills, a necessary precursor to floor time (here). That outcome will likely dictate the path forward on trade, said observers.
The House and Senate are likely to go to legislative conference over the trade preference packages due to a dispute over the payment mechanisms in the bills, said House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to reporters on June 4. A conference means lawmakers in both chambers will have to vote again on a compromise bill once differences are reconciled. The Senate passed its version of the bill in late May, but the House hasn’t yet acted. House Republican leadership is aiming for a vote this month.
Customs brokers, freight forwarders and importers pushed House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and ranking member Sandy Levin, D-Mich., to “quickly” pass the Senate-approved trade preference package in a June 3 letter (here). Senate lawmakers made changes to the package, after legislators in both chambers introduced the same preference legislation in April (see 1504200052). Both packages comprise renewals for the African Growth and Opportunity Act, the Generalized System of Preference and two Haiti tariff preference level programs.
House Republican leadership isn’t scheduled to hold trade votes during any specific week this month, said Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., in a memo he released to Republican colleagues in recent days that outlines the June agenda. The chamber will “likely consider” Trade Promotion Authority and Trade Adjustment Assistance on the floor at some point in the month, however, and at that time, the House will consider the preference package and Customs Reauthorization. The preference package includes renewals for the Generalized System of Preferences, the African Growth and Opportunity Act and two Haiti tariff preference level programs. Trade experts say House leadership is taking its time to ensure it has the votes to pass TPA and TAA, despite calls for quick passage of the bills (see 1505310002).
The House almost certainly won’t vote on trade legislation this week, and Republican leadership will use the days following Memorial Day recess to shore up support for Trade Promotion Authority and Trade Adjustment Assistance, said Washington trade experts in recent days. The chamber reconvenes on June 1. Leadership will aim to hold separate votes on TPA and TAA, and that won’t likely pose any procedural challenges, said a spokesman for House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., the chief trade architect in the House.
Apparel and footwear importers urged House lawmakers to immediately take up legislation to renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act, following the Senate passage of AGOA renewal on May 14. The Senate decisively passed the legislation as part of a preference package that includes renewals for the Generalized System of Preferences and two Haiti tariff preference level programs (see 1505140029). “AGOA must be renewed as soon as possible. Because sourcing decisions are made many months in advance, any delay in passage will discourage continued sourcing and new investment, and will result in the loss of trade and jobs in both Africa and the U.S.,” said the letter (here). “These sourcing decisions are actually happening now as Congress is set to vote on the extension.”
The Senate passed Customs Reauthorization and trade preference legislation on May 14 in heavily-anticipated votes that now pave the way for the chamber to approve a motion to open debate on Trade Promotion Authority and Trade Adjustment Assistance. The May 14 votes come on the heels of the defeat of the procedural motion two days earlier by Democrats (see 1505130015). Senate lawmakers struck a deal on May 13 to move ahead with the four bills, said Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. (here). The chamber will vote to open debate on TPA and TAA at 2:00 p.m.
The Senate will “resume consideration” of the motion to authorize trade debate on May 13, after Senate Democrats fell in line behind Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and shot down the procedural vote the day before. Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., was the lone Democrat to break ranks on May 12 and support the measure, which failed with only 52 votes in favor. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., needed 60 votes to move the chamber to debate on trade legislation.
Since International Trade Today's last legislative update, lawmakers introduced the following trade-related bills, including three from Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, that are updated versions of trade legislation introduced in April (see 1504230001):