House Republicans on the Ways and Means Committee told U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai that she needs to provide "a detailed analysis" of how China did or did not live up to the phase one trade deal. "We have great confidence in your abilities to address the many challenges China presents to the United States and other market economies, and we hope you will expand detailed communication on these matters so that Congress and the Administration can be partners in developing effective U.S. responses," they wrote Feb. 24.
The American Association of Port Authorities announced Feb. 23 that its legislative policy council endorsed the Senate version of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, sponsored by Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and John Thune, R-S.D. (see 2202040009). AAPA CEO Chris Connor earlier this month said, "U.S. ports are moving more goods than ever -- to foreign markets, to American homes, to American businesses. As shovels start hitting the ground for port capacity expansion, thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Klobuchar-Thune bill will further help the system by prioritizing cargo fluidity and increasing access for American businesses and consumers."
Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., co-sponsor of the Endless Frontiers Act that was rolled up into a larger China competition package, said during a Bipartisan Policy Center program broadcast Feb. 18, "I think we’re poised to … have a genuine sit-down conference." There has been talk in the Capitol that there would be a negotiating process led by the leaders of the Republican and Democratic caucuses in the House and Senate, and that while committee chairs would have a say on the sections of the bills under their jurisdiction, there would not be a formal conference committee, whose discussions would be open to the public (see 2202020055). "That is the most methodical, I think, responsible process, and collaborative process," he added.
The Biden administration hasn’t “sufficiently” reported to Congress on China’s failure to meet agricultural purchase commitments under the phase one trade deal and should look for ways to better enforce the agreement, more than 50 Republican lawmakers said in a Feb. 15 letter to the White House. The lawmakers, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., asked Biden to explain what actions his administration is taking to hold China “accountable” for its purchase failures, whether it’s considering negotiating a new deal and when it intends to nominate a USDA undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs.
The Senate on Feb. 9 confirmed Neil MacBride, President Joe Biden’s nominee to be general counsel for the Treasury Department. MacBride, a former federal prosecutor who will advise Treasury on sanctions work, said during his nomination hearing last year that he will “ensure that the department’s regulatory actions comply with the laws Congress enacts.” He also said he knows “firsthand the importance” of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and other Treasury agencies.
Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., and 27 Republican colleagues, introduced a bill that would require the administration to impose Magnitsky Act sanctions if any member or person associated with the International Olympic Committee supported "a gross violation of internationally recognized human rights" against any Olympic or Paralympic Winter games participant. However, the president can choose not to impose sanctions if he determines that a waiver is in the country's national security interests. The text of the bill, which was published Feb. 10, says that participants aren't just athletes -- they can be spectators, members of the press, "government and private officials ... and persons involved in economic activity related to the Games."
Alaska's two Republican senators, Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski, introduced a bill that would ban the import of Russian seafood products. Russia doesn't import U.S. seafood products anymore, in retaliation for sanctions Western nations imposed after Russia invaded Crimea, part of Ukraine, a region that it later annexed. The bill, which the senators announced Dec. 11 but introduced earlier this week, is called the U.S.-Russian Federation Seafood Reciprocity Act.
The American Nuclear Infrastructure Act of 2021 could help make U.S. nuclear exporters more competitive, especially when competing with China, said Maria Korsnick, CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute, speaking during a Feb. 9 Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing. She said the bill would “empower” the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to “focus on nuclear energy export and innovation activities.”
Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., told a virtual audience Feb. 9 hosted by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations that there are more members of Congress who want to punish China or decouple from its economy than there are those who see themselves as trying to salvage the relationship.
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America is telling Congress that some of the language about Non-Vessel Operating Common Carriers (or NVOCCs) and "Ocean Transport Intermediaries" in the Ocean Shipping Act does not make sense, because these intermediaries do not control cargo placement aboard a vessel, and most of the time, they do not set detention and demurrage charges.