International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for March 30 - April 3 in case they were missed.
The Finance Committee is set to consider African Growth and Opportunity Act renewal "in the next month," and the U.S. and South Africa need to "urgently" strike a deal to address antidumping duties on U.S. poultry, said a bipartisan group of senators in a March 31 letter to the South African trade minister and a special envoy for the preference program (here). Some trade observers expect AGOA to move in April alongside Trade Promotion Authority and several other trade bills, including renewal for the Generalized System of Preferences (see 1503310017).
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of March 23 - 29:
The Senate Finance Committee is likely to mark up a Generalized System of Preferences renewal bill and Customs Reauthorization legislation alongside Trade Promotion Authority in mid-to-late April, several lobbyists said in recent days. The markup is also poised to include African Growth and Opportunity Act renewal and a Haiti preferences package, indicated the lobbyists. None of those bills, aside from a Haiti preference measure, have been introduced so far this Congress.
Renewal of the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill may not make it into a trade package in the coming weeks because of continued disagreement over the tariff suspension program, said House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., in a March 26 briefing with reporters. While there's been some effort to reform the MTB process in order to remove earmark criticism, it's unclear if there's much of an appetite to move forward (see 1502190061). Ryan has publicly pushed for passage of MTB renewal on several occasions (see 1502160005).
The Senate Finance Committee is working to improve upon Customs Reauthorization legislation from previous years for a new bill that could be taken up this Congress, said Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, to the American Apparel and Footwear Association on March 19. Congress has failed to “modernize our customs system” in a timely fashion, but the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Reauthorization Act provides the framework to do just that, said Hatch. He and then-Finance Chairman Max Baucus floated that legislation in 2013 and tried unsuccessfully to move it forward.
The Senate Finance Committee’s failure to reach a bipartisan deal on trade continues to push back introduction of Trade Promotion Authority, but the Senate can still float a bill, debate it and send it over to the House by early April, said Jeff Schott, senior fellow with the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Schott discussed the issue during a March 3 conference call. Finance ranking member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., recently criticized a Finance Committee hearing planned for Feb. 26, and committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, ultimately postponed it (see 1502250075).
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Feb. 23 - March 1:
Renewal of the Generalized System of Preferences is “low-hanging fruit” on the 2015 U.S. trade agenda and lawmakers should put the preference program, with a retroactive provision, back into law immediately, said more than 600 companies and trade organizations in a Feb. 23 letter (here). “Please do not delay renewal any longer,” said the letter, addressed to congressional leaders of the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees. “The mounting costs and uncertainty surrounding when GSP might be renewed have had a chilling effect on our ability to grow and compete in the global marketplace.” Renewal will immediately boost U.S. economic growth and competitiveness, said the letter. GSP expired at the end of July 2013.
Lawmakers and stakeholders are trying to hammer out a solution to move forward with Miscellaneous Tariff Bill renewal, but Capitol Hill isn't showing public signs of nearing a deal to address controversy over whether an MTB would violate a ban on earmarks, trade lawyers and lobbyists said in recent days. The lack of concrete new MTB reform proposals that could make it more palatable to Republicans may bode poorly for making big changes to the MTB process as a whole in the 114th Congress, said some lobbyists.