Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who was testifying in front of the Senate Banking Committee May 19, was asked by Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., why the government hasn't placed sanctions on Huawei. He said that Huawei and some other Chinese companies aren't really private-sector firms, and that they were built by stealing American intellectual property.
Two members of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs introduced legislation that urges the Trump administration to sanction Russian government officials responsible for human rights abuses. Reps. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., and Michael McCaul, R-Tex., said the bill aims to penalize the Russian government for imprisoning journalists, political opposition leaders and religious freedom activists, according to a May 11 press release. The bill asks the administration to impose sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights accountability Act or “other applicable” authorities.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., announced that he's introducing a joint resolution that the U.S. should withdraw from the World Trade Organization. Such a resolution, if it were to pass, would not be binding.
More than 25 lawmakers asked the Trump administration to confirm that it is not stopping humanitarian trade with Cuba amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In a May 5 letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the lawmakers, led by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said public health “must take precedence” over trade restrictions. The lawmakers referenced reports (see 2005040019 and 2004080024) that foreign companies have been unable to deliver aid to Cuba “due to burdensome regulatory and reporting requirements” and “fear of prosecution” by the U.S. “This is dangerous and contrary to our longstanding tradition of not politicizing the delivery of humanitarian aid,” the letter said.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, hopes that a free trade agreement with the United Kingdom -- for which negotiations started May 5 -- would be more favorable to American agriculture than European Union policies have been. Grassley, who was speaking to reporters on a conference call May 5, said the EU restrictions that irritate him the most are on the use of feed additives for cattle, geographical indications, and “that we can’t get [genetically modified organisms] into Europe.”
The Congressional Research Service, in a May 1 report, noted that Congress may want to turn its attention to the U.S.-Kenya negotiations not only because of the free trade agreement's potential economic effects, but also because of mandates in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) -- Kenya is the second-largest beneficiary of AGOA when oil is excluded.
The Congressional Research Service issued a report April 30 on exports of U.S.-made defense products. The report includes explanations of U.S. regulations covering defense exports, international governing bodies of those exports -- including the Wassenaar Arrangement -- the foreign military sales process and more. The report also suggested that Congress should consider whether increasing trade should be an “explicit goal” of U.S. arms sales policy and whether current sales methods are consistent with the intent of the Arms Export Control Act.
Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., said that many of his colleagues think “that we can pull back and do everything ourselves,” and that he thinks they may look at the shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic response as evidence that reshoring is the way to go. “You will see more capacity building in the United States, and that makes sense; the idea we can do it all ourselves is pure folly.” Schneider, who was speaking on a webinar hosted by the Washington International Trade Association on April 28, also thinks there needs to be redundancy in supply chains, and more warehousing and less “just-in-time” delivery.
Eight House Republicans have joined to introduce a bill that would require the U.S. trade representative to submit a report to Congress on how World Trade Organization agreements will be fully implemented. In a press release announcing the bill's introduction on April 24, Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., said: “For too long the United States, and the world, has turned a blind eye to much of China’s unfair practices in business and trade, and it has been the American producer and consumer who has paid the price. It’s time the United States and the global community assert their rights under WTO rules to hold China accountable for its behavior on the world stage and ensure a level playing field for all.” He said his bill would prevent China and other high-income nations from receiving special and differential treatment as developing nations. However, under current WTO rules, countries must willingly give up developing nation status; there is no way to force them to leave that status.
The chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the top Republican on the committee want to authorize up to $750 million in grants to accelerate the deployment of “open interfaced, standards-based, and interoperable 5G networks.” Because the leadership of the committee supports the telecommunications bill introduced April 24, it's likely to pass the House. There is a companion bill in the Senate with bipartisan support.