President Donald Trump, speaking at a fracking conference in Pennsylvania, first said that Democrats don't want to put the NAFTA rewrite up for a vote, then said, "But I think they're going to put it up because everybody wants it, and I think ultimately, they're going to do the right thing."
The Congressional Research Service released a report Oct. 18 on with updates on U.S. sanctions on Turkey, Turkey’s military purchases from Russia, the potential for new sanctions and other possible U.S. options as Turkey’s military occupies northern Syria. The report details possible outcomes as Congress tries to impose its own set of sanctions on Turkey after the administration said it would lift sanctions in exchange for a ceasefire in Syria (see 1910180060).
Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., joined four House members in asking Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to look into possible Global Magnitsky sanctions against Kuwait. The Sept. 27 letter, posted by Crowell & Moring, asks Mnuchin to investigate Kuwait after the conviction and imprisonment of Maria Lazareva, a Russian businesswoman who was accused of embezzlement. Lazareva’s conviction was nullified by a Kuwait court after she served a year in prison.
Although Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley represents Iowa, a major pork, corn and soybean exporting state, he's not concerned about the figures President Donald Trump touted as he described the outlines of a Phase 1 deal with China. Trump said China would be buying up to $50 billion in American commodities; other administration figures later clarified the promise was for $40 billion to $50 billion, and it would ramp up over two years.
Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, who served as the Republican party whip for five years until 2018, said he doesn't think the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act would come up this week. The most likely way for the Hong Kong bill to move that quickly would be to see if it could be subject to unanimous consent, which means a voice vote with no debate. Bringing up a bill in this way is to "hotline" it.
The House plans to pass a “strong, bipartisan” sanctions package this week in response to the Trump administration's decision to lift sanctions on Turkey in exchange for a ceasefire in Syria, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. Pelosi’s comments came after the Trump administration announced last week it would be suspending further sanctions on Turkey and plans to lift recently announced sanctions in exchange for the ceasefire.
Two stalwart Republican supporters of the president joined with three Democratic senators to say that Congress is united in a push to levy sanctions on Turkey for its invasion of Syria.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she's optimistic the administration and trading partners will be able to reach agreement on enforceability that will allow the House to proceed with a vote. Pelosi, speaking at a press conference Oct. 17, said the working group is "making progress every day." She also said that the agreement has to be respectful of global agreements on the environment, and she hopes the provisions on biologics can be resolved to the satisfaction of Democrats. "That's a very big issue in our caucus," she said.
About 350 companies, trade associations and local manufacturing groups and chambers of commerce are urging Congress to ratify the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement "as soon as possible this autumn." The letter, led by the National Association of Manufacturers and signed by giants like Ford, GM, Fiat Chrysler, Caterpillar, IBM, GE, Honeywell, Bayer and Bristol-Myers Squibb, was sent Oct. 15. It said that ratification "is essential to promoting certainty and growth for manufacturing businesses." Volvo North America and Mahindra Automotive America signed the letter, but BMW and Mercedes -- whose supply chains would likely have to change to meet stricter rules of origin -- did not. The letter referred to trade facilitation -- though not explicitly higher de minimis levels in Canada and Mexico, in saying that the USMCA will eliminate red tape at the border, and make "it easier for small and medium-sized businesses to sell into these critical markets."
The conventional wisdom in Washington is that a House ratification vote for the new NAFTA can be held before Thanksgiving, according to Dan Ujczo, chairman of Dickinson Wright's cross-border law practice. Ujczo, whose firm works with auto manufacturers and who follows the politics of North American trade closely, said when his clients did fly-ins, Republicans, trade associations, and Democrats outside the Progressive Caucus all said that. But Ujczo doesn't think that's true.