House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and ranking member Sandy Levin, D-Mich., formally introduced legislation to renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act, the Generalized System of Preferences and two preference programs for Haiti on April 17. Despite expectations for a companion bill in the Senate, Finance Committee lawmakers haven’t yet followed suit (see 1504170020). The AGOA Extension and Enhancement Act of 2015, HR-1891 (here), would extend the entire AGOA program through 2025, and would also extend the program’s third-country fabric provision on an identical time scale. Apparel importers tried hard over recent months and years to include that long-term extension for the fabric provision, saying the overlapping lifespan will give more reliability to supply chains (see 14091719). The extension would also extend a regional fabric provision.
Footwear importers hope changes to the tariff schedule for athletic shoes get included in the package of trade legislation brewing on Capitol Hill, say trade association leadership. A recently requested modification to Chapter 64 of the HTS would result in substantial duty savings for importers of athletic shoes that include internal plastic membranes, such as trail runners and hiking shoes with Gore-Tex, they said. The changes require legislative action because they lack congressional authorization to affect duty rates, according to a government official. Recent movement on trade in Congress is the best opportunity in a decade for minor initiatives like tariff changes to make it into law, said Matt Priest, FDRA president.
Newly introduced Trade Promotion Authority legislation would strengthen Congress' ability to slow trade agreement implementation bills, lawmakers and congressional aides said. The heavily-anticipated legislation, introduced on April 16, will also give the American public improved access to trade negotiations and lead the way for a number of other trade measures. Aside from procedural and transparency modifications, the bill largely mirrors the TPA legislation introduced in the last Congress, as many lawmakers and trade experts predicted (see 1501300023).
Lawmakers introduced trade preference renewal legislation that will include the African Growth and Opportunity Act, the Generalized System of Preferences and two tariff preference levels for imports from Haiti as part of a wider trade push. Those renewals and other trade bills are expected to progress alongside Trade Promotion Authority, introduced April 16, said Congressional aides. Though some details are still being worked out, a customs reauthorization bill is also expected to be part of the package, said the aides.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership is poised to include the strongest environmental regulation in the history of global trade agreements, despite significant resistance from TPP partners, said U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman in a speech to the Outdoor Industry Association on April 15. The pact will crack down on illegal fishing, logging and other wildlife trafficking, and the U.S. will be able to sanction countries that fail to meet their environmental commitments, said Froman.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for March 30 - April 3 in case they were missed.
The Finance Committee is set to consider African Growth and Opportunity Act renewal "in the next month," and the U.S. and South Africa need to "urgently" strike a deal to address antidumping duties on U.S. poultry, said a bipartisan group of senators in a March 31 letter to the South African trade minister and a special envoy for the preference program (here). Some trade observers expect AGOA to move in April alongside Trade Promotion Authority and several other trade bills, including renewal for the Generalized System of Preferences (see 1503310017).
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of March 23 - 29:
The Senate Finance Committee is likely to mark up a Generalized System of Preferences renewal bill and Customs Reauthorization legislation alongside Trade Promotion Authority in mid-to-late April, several lobbyists said in recent days. The markup is also poised to include African Growth and Opportunity Act renewal and a Haiti preferences package, indicated the lobbyists. None of those bills, aside from a Haiti preference measure, have been introduced so far this Congress.
Renewal of the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill may not make it into a trade package in the coming weeks because of continued disagreement over the tariff suspension program, said House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., in a March 26 briefing with reporters. While there's been some effort to reform the MTB process in order to remove earmark criticism, it's unclear if there's much of an appetite to move forward (see 1502190061). Ryan has publicly pushed for passage of MTB renewal on several occasions (see 1502160005).