Three senators reintroduced legislation May 20 that would lift a Cuba trade embargo to eliminate business barriers between the two countries and boost U.S. exports to the island. The Freedom to Export to Cuba Act wouldn’t repeal trade restrictions surrounding human rights violations but would eliminate “key provisions of previous laws that block” U.S. exports to Cuba, a news release said. Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; Jerry Moran, R-Kan.; and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., are the sponsors.

The Senate’s China competition bill will now include legislation introduced by two senators earlier this year aimed at securing U.S. leadership in emerging technologies. Sens. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said their National Strategy to Ensure American Leadership Act will be included in the Endless Frontier Act, which is expected to see a vote before the Senate soon (see 2105130025). The two senators’ original bill called for the Commerce Department to work with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to identify the 10 most critical emerging technology challenges facing the U.S. and recommend steps to ensure U.S. leadership in those technologies. Commerce is in the middle of crafting a series of export controls over emerging and foundational technologies (see 2105040063 and 2103190037).

The House Foreign Affairs Committee passed a resolution May 19 urging the United Nations to impose an arms embargo against the Myanmar military. The resolution calls on the UN to “prevent the continued acquisition of arms and military equipment and the proliferation of weapons throughout the country,” and to hold Myanmar officials accountable for human rights violations. The U.S. has placed sanctions and other restrictions on the Myanmar military for its overthrow of the country’s government (see 2105170015 and 2104080026).

More than 40 Republican lawmakers urged President Joe Biden to refrain from providing sanctions relief to Iran, saying that nation is supporting “terrorist activity” against Israel. The senators -- including Jim Risch of Idaho, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee -- said Iran is supporting “Palestinian terrorists” in Gaza and has encouraged the group to attack Israel amid the ongoing conflict between the two sides.

Reps. Ron Kind, D-Wis.; David Schweikert, R-Ariz.; Don Beyer, D-Va.; and Drew Ferguson, R-Ga., introduced a resolution May 11 calling on the U.S. to “reaffirm its commitment” to membership in the World Trade Organization “and work with other WTO members to achieve reforms at the WTO that improve the speed and predictability of dispute settlement, address longstanding concerns with the WTO's Appellate Body, increase transparency at the WTO, [and] ensure that WTO members invoke special and differential treatment reserved for developing countries only in fair and appropriate circumstances... .”

Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Alex Padilla, D-Calif., asked the commerce secretary and U.S. trade representative to work to convince China and the European Union to lift their retaliatory tariffs on American wine. In both cases, the tariffs were imposed in response to U.S. tariffs on those countries' exports. The three said in the May 11 letter: "Wineries in our states are already under siege by the pandemic, wildfires, and now drought. Many will not survive if they are also asked to indefinitely sustain a damaging trade war."

Eighteen senators, led by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., are asking the administration to convince Europe to remove 25% retaliatory tariffs on American whiskey before it's scheduled to double on June 1. The tariff was imposed in response to 25% tariffs on European steel. Their May 11 letter said that whiskey exports to the European Union fell by 37% since the tariff went into place, and exports to the United Kingdom fell by 50%. "Like other small businesses involved in the food and drink industry, American craft distillers have struggled during the pandemic, as on-site sales and sales to restaurants and bars declined substantially. Nearly a third of craft distillers’ employees have been furloughed since the start of the pandemic. These employers are just now starting the road to recovery and the continuation, and potential increase, of these tariffs will inhibit this recovery. ... As the Biden administration works to address trade disputes with our allies in Europe, we urge the administration to work to secure the immediate suspension of tariffs on American Whiskey and, ultimately, the permanent removal of all retaliatory tariffs on American, EU, and UK spirits and wine."

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, in her second day of testimony on Capitol Hill, heard again and again from members of Congress who are hearing from companies in their districts that they want Section 301 tariff exclusions back. She heard repeatedly that the 9% countervailing duties on Canadian lumber are making a bad situation worse. And she heard that the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill and Generalized System of Preferences benefits program should be renewed. On each topic, both Democrats and Republicans shared concerns, though on GSP, Republicans only spoke of the cost to importers, while Democrats worried about the effects of GSP on the eligible countries. Tai testified for more than four hours in front of the House Ways and Means Committee on May 13.

U.S. ports and the broader freight transportation network are still facing significant backlogs and extreme pressure from congested global supply chains, industry officials told a Senate subcommittee on Surface Transportation, Maritime, Freight and Ports May 11. Some officials called for a clear national strategy to address the issues and provide more funding for ports nationwide.

One Democrat and one Republican from each chamber sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, asking the administration to reexamine the decision to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2017, a decision they called “misguided and short-sighted.” The May 5 letter, led by Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware, a close ally to President Joe Biden, also acknowledged that “there are significant political obstacles to negotiating an agreement to rejoin the TPP in its current form.” But Carper, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., said there should be an effort to determine the best course for engagement with the countries that continued on without the U.S. to see how they could build on recent trade agreements.