When the Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee held a hearing on the U.S.-Japan mini-deal, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative declined to send anyone to testify. Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., one of the biggest boosters of free trade in the Democratic caucus, said that absence represents “the disdain the current administration has" for Congress, and its role in setting trade policy. He predicted that "this will have serious ramifications for the next time" Congress has a vote on fast-track authority.
A 10-year extension of the Export-Import Bank passed the House of Representatives by a 235-184 vote on Nov. 15, with 13 Republicans voting yes and 4 Democrats voting no. The bill, which would increase lending capacity to $175 billion and make sure that large deals could be done even if senators block appointees to the board, has drawn a veto threat from the White House. The Ex-Im Bank's authority expires Nov. 21, but it's expected to get a short-term extension as part of a continuing resolution to fund the federal government. The House and the Senate have not been able to agree on any funding bills yet, so the entire government is funded through a continuing resolution.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., who leads the working group negotiating with the U.S. trade representative over the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, said he anticipates that USTR Robert Lighthizer will send over text of the changes to the agreement next week. Neal said he spoke with Lighthizer Nov. 14, to tell him he'd be forwarding “a series of, we think, could be make-or-break issues, and that we hoped that he would digest them and then respond to us, fast."
Americans for Prosperity, FreedomWorks, the National Taxpayers Union and 16 other groups sent a letter Nov. 15 to every member of Congress urging them to reject pension reform legislation that has been talked about as a possible companion to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement implementing bill (see 1910160054). "Attaching any of them to other legislation, from must-pass appropriations to the USMCA trade agreement, is unacceptable," the groups said.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the Export-Import Bank renewal a very important piece of legislation, at her press conference Nov. 14, and said it shouldn't be a bill that divides the two parties. However, The United States Export Finance Agency Act of 2019, which reauthorizes the Ex-Im Bank for 10 years, passed out of committee with no Republican support.
Trade Subcommittee Chairman Earl Blumenauer said he doesn't know if they'll to be able to evaluate the details of the U.S.-Japan skinny trade deal in the hearing scheduled for next week, because the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has not released the text yet. He said in a Nov. 13 interview it's “troubling" that the House Ways and Means Committee has not received text of the deal, which was signed Sept. 26. "Sometimes dealing with USTR can be a little opaque, which is one of my constants through several administrations," he said.
On a day when more than two dozen House Republicans tweeted that their chamber should pass the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement -- most contrasting the impeachment movement with the lack of action on the trade deal -- the Democrats' No. 2 said his party's members want to finish negotiations with the U.S. trade representative and get the bill under consideration.
The House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee will hold a hearing Nov. 20 on the U.S.-Japan mini trade deal, and on the prospects for a second phase of negotiations to reach a more comprehensive agreement. It starts at 10 a.m. in Room 2020 Rayburn.
Two congresswomen are asking for more signatures for a letter that applauds the Commerce Department’s decision to place eight Chinese technology companies on the Entity List and urges the administration not to make concessions on the list in trade negotiations.The letter, written by Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., and Ann Wagner, R-Mo., to be sent to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, also urges the State Department to impose sanctions on China for its oppression of the Uighur population.
The Border Trade Alliance is asking House and Senate appropriators to dedicate enough funding to hire an additional 1,200 CBP officers. "Current staffing levels fail to address the growing demands of travel and trade at our ports-of-entry," the Oct. 28 BTA letter said. Long waits increase supply chain costs, they said. Providing additional CBP officers at this time of growing volumes of international passengers and cargo would both reduce lengthy wait times and facilitate new economic opportunities in communities throughout the United States.