House Delays Vote on AGOA, Burmese Import Restriction as Senate Deals with Objections

The House didn't hold a scheduled July 24 vote on HR-5986, a trade bill that would extend African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) provisions and extend Burmese import restrictions. The House bill was scheduled for consideration under suspension of the rules, meaning a markup from the House Ways and Means Committee, where the bill originated, won't be required. No reason for the delay was given.

Meanwhile, a similar Senate bill, S-3326, that was recently approved by the Senate Finance Committee during a markup is also facing difficulties. According to reports, Sens. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) informed Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) of objections to moving the bill under unanimous consent. Menendez's concern is with the inaction of "cotton trust fund" legislation, which would reauthorize a "2006 program to correct a tariff inversion on cotton shirting material imports that make it cheaper to import foreign-made finished shirts than for American manufacturers to import the raw shirting material," according to Menendez. Coburn's objection is to how the legislation deals with budgetary off-sets.

(See ITT's Online Archives 12071912 for summary of the Senate markup and 12062235 for summary of the bill.)

Text of the legislation is (here). The legislation would extend the third-country fabric provision in AGOA and to add South Sudan to the list of countries eligible for designation under that Act. The bill would also make technical corrections to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States relating to the textile and apparel rules of origin for the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement, and approve the renewal of import restrictions contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003, and for other purposes