The Commerce Department should add China’s Yangtze Memory Technologies Company to the Entity List because it has “clear ties” to the Chinese military and is helping the country gain ground in the semiconductor industry, two Republican senators told Commerce. Sens. Michael McCaul of Texas and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee said the chip company also should be subject to the foreign direct product rule, which would restrict the company’s ability to import certain foreign-made semiconductor equipment that is built with or that incorporates U.S. technology. “With no [Chinese] firm or alternative foreign provider capable of providing YMTC with comparable equipment and software -- including high aperture etching tools, metrology and inspection tools, and cleaning systems -- a unilateral control” by the U.S. would “significantly hinder YMTC’s ability to implement a [Chinese] industrial plan designed to weaken U.S. national and economic security and increase its reliance on” China, the senators said in a July 12 letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

The Senate Finance Committee recommended Sarah Bianchi and Jayme White to be deputy U.S. trade representatives, with strong bipartisan tallies on July 13. White, who was the chief trade adviser to Senate Finance Committee Democrats before his nomination, was approved 25-3. If confirmed, White would have responsibility for the Western Hemisphere, Europe, the Middle East, labor and the environment (see {Ref:2104160066]). Sarah Bianchi, who was approved 27-1, would cover Asia, Africa, services, textiles, investment and industrial competitiveness (see 2106010033). They were nominated by President Joe Biden in April. Confirmation votes will come later in the full Senate

The House Appropriations Committee released its draft proposals for funding the Commerce Department and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. It wants to spend $577.4 million on the Commerce Department's International Trade Administration, $36.4 million more than the current fiscal year's spending, a 6.7% increase. It wants to spend $143.4 million on the Bureau of Industry and Security, up $10.4 million from the current year, a 7.8% increase.

Congress may want to advise the Biden administration on which issues it should prioritize during discussions on a potential free trade agreement with Kenya (see 2105120050 and 2104020034), the Congressional Research Service said in a July 7 report. The report provides an overview of the various motivations, challenges and potential roadblocks that officials might face during negotiations, and said the deal could be pivotal for the U.S. desire to expand trading ties in Africa. Reducing trade barriers could also help U.S. companies remain competitive in the Kenyan market, especially after that country finalized a deal with the United Kingdom (see 2011030017) and is close to completing an agreement with the European Union.

A day before high-level trade talks with Taiwan (see 2106300009), Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Mark Warner, D-Va., led a letter asking U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to reconvene the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) meetings, and requested that she then “take steps to begin laying the groundwork for negotiation of a free trade agreement (FTA), or other preliminary agreement, with Taiwan.” Forty other senators signed.

Rep. Rick Larsen, a pro-trade Democrat from Washington state, told an audience at the Washington International Trade Association that Congress views China primarily as a strategic competitor, though members recognize there are areas of cooperation as well. He said that 10 years ago, the view from Washington was the reverse.

Rep. Jodey Arrington, a Republican on the Ways and Means Committee, was cool to fellow Texas delegation member Sen. John Cornyn's proposal to study the possibility of allowing goods made in foreign-trade zones to be considered originating under USMCA.

The United Nations should take “immediate measures” to respond to continued human rights violations committed by China, the leaders of the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China said in a July 1 letter to Secretary General Antonio Guterres. Commission chairs Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Rep. James McGovern, D-Mass., said the U.N. should provide an update on whether it has made progress in “implementing the measures” suggested last year by U.N. human rights experts to tackle China's treatment of Hong Kong and Muslim minorities in Xinjiang. If no measures have been taken, the lawmakers asked the U.N. to “provide a basis for the failure to act.” “With these gross human rights violations in mind,” they said, “we echo the UN experts’ call for immediate measures to closely monitor and assess China’s behavior.”

Reps. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, and Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., told President Joe Biden that 20% of farm income comes from exports, and said an agricultural negotiator at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative would help expand those sales. “For several years, our producers have experienced price declines, retaliatory tariffs, severe weather, drought, and other hardships that have been out of their control,” they wrote in a June 29 letter. They said that fresh vegetable exports last year to Japan fell 35% and that the same exports to Taiwan fell 12%. “It is critical the Chief Agricultural Negotiator promotes American agriculture around the world and works vigorously to advance existing and future markets for our producers.” Twenty-six other members also signed.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce asked Congress to work to renew and update the fast-track law officially called Trade Promotion Authority, which just expired. Executive Vice President and Head of International Affairs Myron Brilliant said, “TPA is the vehicle that allows American workers, farmers, and companies to secure the benefits of a new market-opening trade agreements; it lets members of Congress set negotiating objectives and guarantees they will be consulted as trade talks proceed; and it strengthens the hand of U.S. trade officials as they engage with foreign governments. To advance a pro-growth, pro-jobs trade agenda, TPA is essential.”