A bipartisan group of lawmakers has crafted a new proposal for an outbound investment screening mechanism that will ensure the U.S. is “not ceding its manufacturing power in industries critical to our economic and national security.” The “refined proposal,” negotiated during the congressional conference for the Bipartisan Innovation Act, will be “robust” but also will address industry concerns, said the lawmakers, including Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Bob Casey, D-Pa., who originally proposed a version of the bill last year (see 2201140038). “We look forward to meaningful engagement in writing from stakeholders as we work to secure this bill in the conference report,” the lawmakers said.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week approved a bill that would authorize U.S. sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act against anyone who helps Iran acquire unmanned drones or their parts. The bill was overwhelmingly passed by the House in April (see 2204280007).
President Joe Biden, speaking at the Port of Los Angeles, praised the collaborative work of port officials and workers and the government to break through logjams, and partly blamed foreign-owned shipping companies for rising prices.
More than 25 Republican lawmakers said they haven’t yet received a response from the Biden administration from their March letter urging U.S. officials to assist in negotiations between West Coast ports and their dockworkers’ union. In a new letter sent this week, they said negotiations have already been suspended once and they are concerned the Biden administration “does not share the same urgency raised by stakeholders and Congress.”
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., is proposing a limited carbon tax on firms that are dirtier than average in about a dozen industries, and a carbon border tax on imports in those industries that are also above those benchmarks. The fee would start in 2024, for fossil fuel producers, refiners of petroleum products, petrochemicals manufacturers, fertilizer producers, hydrogen producers, adipic acid processors, cement producers, iron and steelmakers, aluminum producers, glass producers, pulp and paper plants, and ethanol producers. According to a press release from Whitehouse.
An aggressive timeline that aims to file a conference report by June 21 for the House and Senate China packages has lobbyists speculating that none of the proposals in the trade titles will be in the final bill because the two chambers are too far apart. The two chambers have relatively similar renewals of the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program and a big difference in their renewals of the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill. Each chamber has proposals the other doesn't, such as directing the administration to reopen Section 301 exclusions (Senate only); changing antidumping and countervailing duty laws (House only); removing China's eligibility for de minimis benefits (House only); and renewing and expanding Trade Adjustment Assistance (House only).
A nonbinding resolution to pursue a free trade agreement with the U.K. passed the Senate through unanimous consent. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, hailed the passage in a May 26 news release. "The United States and the United Kingdom are the closest of allies and the most natural of economic partners. Since the British people have reclaimed the right to negotiate their own trade agreements, I have advocated for a robust trade agreement between our nations. I am overjoyed and encouraged to see the Senate pass this resolution calling for such a mutually beneficial agreement. Free trade between our nations would be good for Britons, for Americans, and particularly for Utahns who have such close economic ties to our friends across the pond," he said.
Paul Rosen, President Joe Biden's nominee to chair the Committee on Foreign Investment of the U.S., was confirmed by the Senate May 24. Rosen in April told lawmakers he will continue to prioritize U.S. reviews of China-related transactions and wants to better encourage companies to submit voluntary filings (see 2204060059). Rosen’s official title will be the Treasury Department’s assistant secretary for investment security.
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, criticized the Bureau of Industry and Security's decision to stop differentiating between emerging and foundational technologies for the purposes of export controls, saying the agency is trying to dodge its statutory responsibility. BIS said last week that the effort to categorize technologies as either emerging or foundational has sometimes delayed the controls, adding that it will instead refer to them as Section 1758 technologies (see 2205200017).
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., is leading a nine-person bipartisan delegation to Brussels, the U.K. and Ireland to discuss strengthening trans-Atlantic trade relations as well as "underscoring the significance of the Good Friday Agreement." The Boris Johnson administration in London has proposed legislation to end border checks on goods sent from the main island to Northern Ireland. This is problematic because there are no border checks between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which is an EU member.