The Senate is expected to vote this week on resolutions to reject proposed military sales to the United Arab Emirates, which include billions of dollars worth of F-35 fighter jets, drones and related equipment (see 2011130022). Opposition to the sales is being led by Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky.; Chris Murphy, D-Conn.; and Bob Menendez, D-N.J., who said last month the sales may damage U.S. national security.
House Ways and Means Committee member Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., said that although “the politics of trade are fairly tricky,” she feels confident in saying “things can't get any worse” for free trade during the Biden administration. Murphy, one of two members of the House speaking on a Cato Institute webinar about what to expect in trade with a new president, said she's encouraged by President-elect Joe Biden's choices for the secretaries of the treasury and state, and the head of the National Security Council, because all of the individuals recognize that trade is an important tool in foreign policy.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, led a bipartisan letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer arguing that he should not push for returning treatment of foreign-trade zones to the NAFTA approach, and instead, should allow goods manufactured in those zones to receive tariff benefits if they meet USMCA rules of origin. This issue has been hanging up a technical fixes bill since the summer (see 2007200021).
The Congressional Research Service issued a Nov. 20 update on U.S. restrictions against Cuba, including the recent remittance restrictions announced by the Treasury Department. The report outlines the new restrictions, including the State Department’s new Cuba Prohibited Accommodations List (see 2009230029) regulations that aim to restrict the Cuban government’s access to remittance-related funds (see 2010230024 and 2010260018) that become effective Nov. 26.
House Ways and Means Committee member Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., has a district full of farms growing grapes, berries, lettuce, artichokes, garlic or other non-commodity crops. His constituents want export markets, so opening trade negotiations is popular in Central California. Panetta, who was interviewed online by the Washington International Trade Association on Nov. 23, said there needs to be a lot of education in the Democratic caucus on why a renewal of Trade Promotion Authority is important before it expires July 1.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., said there should be “a reset of our trade agenda,” with less emphasis on tariffs “and more emphasis on international cooperation and multilateral relationships.” Neal, who was speaking to the New England Council on Nov. 23, said that “keeping the heat on China is important, but simultaneously, tariffs are not the only way to do it.”
Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., said he plans to introduce a resolution in the Senate to open trade negotiations for a free trade agreement with Taiwan. Toomey said during a Heritage Foundation webinar on Taiwan Nov. 18, “We’ve got a particularly attractive opportunity to expand trade with Taiwan. Strengthening those trade ties with Taiwan would benefit us both in security terms and in economic growth.” He said Taiwan is the 10th-largest trading partner in goods for the U.S. Toomey, a consistent free-trader, said he hopes that talks will aim to liberalize trade, not manage it. China would be angered if the U.S. did seek an FTA with Taiwan, as it does not recognize the island as an independent country.
Even as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce held out hope for a President Joe Biden rolling back tariffs on imports from countries other than China, it doesn't expect Congress to limit a president's ability to impose tariffs without congressional approval. Neil Bradley, executive vice president of the Chamber and its top policy officer, said that if Biden were to win, “he may choose a slightly different path” on tariffs than Donald Trump has.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, will no longer lead the committee even if Republicans retain the majority in the Senate. The Republicans have term limits for committee chairmanships, so he will move on. Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, is the most senior member of the committee, and thus is the next expected chairman, though that move has not yet been settled.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said a renewal of the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program could happen either by packaging the bill with an omnibus spending bill, or, if Congress just passes another temporary spending bill, by attachment to a tax extenders bill.