Portman Says Bipartisan TAA Negotiations Should Include GSP, MTB, TPA and Stronger AD/CVD
Finance Committee member Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, bemoaned the fact that the House did not vote on a short-term extension of Trade Adjustment Assistance already passed by the Senate, and told his committee's chairman and top Republican that he would like to be part of bipartisan negotiations to get TAA moving, paired with other trade priorities. Portman, in a letter Sept. 28, also said he worries that passing TAA as part of the Democratic-only soft infrastructure package means the broader trade agenda will be neglected. "As policymakers, I believe we can take steps to support American manufacturing and avoid the root causes for TAA," he said, and argued that renewing the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill and Generalized System of Preferences benefits program, and strengthening antidumping and countervailing duty laws would help.
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"Given the widespread fears in Congress about China’s anti-free market economic practices and the exportation of this model abroad through policies like the Belt and Road Initiative, I believe it to be absolutely critical to the national security and economic competitiveness of the United States to consider legislation which pushes back against China in this regard," he wrote. "Additionally, Congress should also consider the renewal of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) to open markets abroad for Made in America exports, especially when it comes to agreements with the United Kingdom and Japan, and on digital trade."