House Bill on GSP/ATPDEA Extension & MTB Introduced, FTAs Expected to Wait to 2011, Etc.

On December 7, 2010, Representative Brady (R), current Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee (and likely incoming Subcommittee Chairman) addressed the Chamber of Commerce’s "North American Competitiveness and the Global Supply Chain” Summit, focusing on pending free trade agreements and expiring preference programs.

Highlights of his remarks, and information on recently introduced legislation, include:

House Republicans Plans Aggressive Trade Agenda

House Republicans will have an aggressive trade agenda in the 112th Congress. The President appears to be getting serious about a trade agenda (Brady cited recent progress on the U.S.-Korea FTA (KORUS FTA) as an example). The U.S. must move forward with trade liberalizing initiatives so that the goal of doubling exports can be achieved. The current pace is unacceptable, and more of an effort needs to be made.

Goal is to Moving Pending FTAs in First Six Months of 2011

Incoming Speaker of the House Boehner (R) and incoming House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Camp (R), both support the pending FTAs (Korea, Colombia, and Panama). The goal is to move the pending FTAs in the first six months of 2011, but the strategy on how this would be accomplished is still under discussion by Congressional leaders. There are certain issues, such as whether or not the 60-day fast track “clock” has stopped on the U.S.-Colombia FTA, whether all three pending FTAs need to be resent to Congress, etc., that are still being worked out. House Republican leaders favor having the President resubmit all three pending FTAs to Congress.

Congress Still Working to Extend GSP and ATPA Before End of Year

Another goal is the enactment of an extension of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program and the Andean Trade Preferences Act/Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA) before they expire on December 31, 2010.

On December 14, 2010, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Levin (D) introduced the Omnibus Trade Act of 2010 (H.R. 6517) which contains a provision to extend GSP and ATPA/ATPDEA (only for some (not all) ATPA/ATPDEA beneficiaries). See future issues of ITT for details on H.R. 6517.

(Note -- for AGOA beneficiary countries, both the GSP program (i.e., A, A*, and A+) and the AGOA-GSP program (i.e., D) remain in effect through September 30, 2015.)

(See ITT’s Online Archives or 12/08/10 news, 10120824, for most recent BP update on the attempt to extend GSP and ATPA/ATPDEA.)

Congress Still Working to Complete Work on Second MTB by End of Year

According to Brady, another goal is to conclude work on a second Miscellaneous Trade Bill by the end of 2010. A week after his remarks, on December 14, 2010, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Levin (D) introduced the Omnibus Trade Act of 2010 (H.R. 6517) which contains hundreds of duty suspension and reduction provisions. See future issues of ITT for details on H.R. 6517.

A further goal is to move a MTB in every Congressional session and Brady emphasized that such legislation is not an earmark.

(See ITT’s Online Archives or 11/29/10 and 11/30/10 news, 10112935 and 10113033, for BP summaries of the House Ways and Means Committee’s draft second MTB.)

Customs Reauthorization Bill Will be a High Priority in 112th Congress

The House Ways and Means Committee continues to work on way to reinforce security and build on trade facilitation efforts through bipartisan CBP reauthorization legislation. The Committee has completed its work on the first section of a bill and is currently working on the second and third sections. Congress is likely to run out of time to complete work on the bill this year, but such legislation will be a high priority in the 112th Congress.

The goals of the House CBP reauthorization legislation include:

• Reprioritizing CBP’s trade facilitation and enforcement mission (but not elevate it above security); and
• Seeking to better align CBP’s trade and security emissions in order to increase security, safety, commercial compliance, and facilitate legitimate trade.

(The Senate’s Customs reauthorization bill (S. 1631) was introduced in October 2009. (See ITT's Online Archives or 09/22/09 news, 09092215, for the final part of BP's 12-part summary of S. 1631, with links to the other parts in the series.)

Ways and Means Continues Oversight on Other Customs Issues

The House Ways and Means Committee, through its oversight function, is working to ensure that the cargo security and trade facilitation goals, as envisioned by Congress, are implemented by CBP.

10+2. Brady cited the 10+2 rulemaking is an example of something that involved discussions between CBP, Congress, and other parts of the Executive Branch.

ACE/ITDS. The House Ways and Means Committee is looking for ways to facilitate trade by working with CBP and industry to determine the needs of the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) and the International Trade Data System (ITDS) as both systems are a way that limited agency resources can be leveraged.

Account management. The House Ways and Means Committee is also examining the concept of account management as a way for CBP to improve the import process and facilitate legitimate trade. Brady said that account management is also way to leverage resources.

TPP and Doha Round Negotiations Are also Important Priorities

The importance of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations was also discussed and Brady expressed a desire to have such negotiations completed by the time the U.S. hosts the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in 2011.

There is also support in Congress for a strong Doha Round. The U.S. will need to see more progress from the emerging developing countries, like Brazil, India, and China.

Video of Representative Brady’s remarks (dated 12/01/10) available at http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/BradyR.