The top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee said Republican and Democratic staff on the committee "haven’t had extensive discussions on GSP and MTB, and won't, my sense is, as long as there’s an insistence on [linking them to renewing] Trade Adjustment Assistance."
Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Chris Coons, D-Del, laid out parameters of a trade package they hope to get passed in the next three weeks in Congress.
The Congressional Research Service this week updated its report on U.S. sanctions against Venezuela, outlining the types of designations imposed on the country and policy considerations for the U.S. government and Congress. The report now reflects the Treasury Department’s decision last month to grant Chevron a general license to resume certain oil activities in Venezuela for the first time in years (see 2211280042). CRS said “fluctuations in oil prices also have put pressure on U.S. and European officials to find alternate sources to replace Russian-supplied oil.”
Nearly 60 agricultural trade groups, companies and ag services providing trade groups asked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to schedule confirmation votes for the chief agricultural negotiator at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and for the undersecretary of agriculture for trade and foreign agricultural affairs at USDA.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., one of the primary movers behind the Chips Act, told an audience that more domains need policymakers' attention so that they don't wake up to find that China has become dominant in an important emerging technology. He noted that before becoming a politician, he "was in the telecommunication space," and said that realizing that China is dominating 5G with two heavily subsidized champion companies was the "final wake-up call" that engagement and deeper trade with China is not the right way to go.
Republicans on House Oversight and Commerce committees are seeking additional documents and information from TikTok about its data collection activities after previous rounds of questioning left some issues unresolved. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., the top Republican on the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., the top Republican on the Committee on Oversight and Reform, said they hope more information can aid the Biden administration to mitigate any “potentially negative consequences to U.S. national security” resulting from TikTok’s operation in the U.S.
Two top Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee urged the Biden administration to craft a specific strategy to address the “new era of geostrategic and geoeconomic competition with China.” In a Nov. 17 letter to the White House, Sens. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said the U.S. needs a “comprehensive strategy” to address China’s human rights violations in Hong Kong, its expanding military presence in the South China Sea and its “predatory economic practices.”
Of all the outstanding trade policy options -- new trade promotion authority, requiring Section 301 exclusions, revisions to antidumping law and a customs modernization law -- the head of government relations at Flexport said he thinks customs modernization is the most likely to pass. "I think we are coming on the cusp of something," Darien Flowers said, and said he thinks a bill will be enacted before 2025. Flowers once worked for Sen. Bill Cassidy, the Louisiana Republican who is leading the bill, though more recently he served on the minority staff of the Senate Commerce Committee.
The Federal Maritime Commission’s proposed definition for a carrier’s “unreasonable” refusal to accommodate U.S. exports is too broad and doesn't meet congressional intent, said Reps. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., and John Garamendi, D-Calif., who led the House’s passage of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022.
The Congressional Research Service issued a report this month on Iran’s transfer of weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine, detailing the specific items that may have been sent and possible next steps for the U.S. The report noted Congress may look to push for more sanctions against any person or entity involved in the sales and is considering the Stop Iranian Drones Act, which would clarify U.S. sanctions policy on Iranian efforts to acquire unmanned drones. The House passed the bill in April (see 2204280007, 2112010019 and 2211020033).