House Majority Leader Says Conferee Selections Are Awaiting Senate Action

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said it would be good if the House and Senate could name their respective conferees to the committee that will aim to hash out a compromise between the two chambers' China packages. He said the next two weeks, when Congress will not be in Washington, could be put to good use by the members. But Hoyer suggested the House will wait until the Senate passes its motion to go to conference, and gives its negotiating instructions.

"Obviously, the Senate’s pretty jammed over there, because they also want to get [a vote on Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown] Jackson done at the end of the week," he said during a phone call with reporters April 5. "We’ll see how quickly they act, and we will act very quickly thereafter."

There are numerous trade provisions that will be discussed in that conference, including renewal of the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program and Miscellaneous Tariff Bill, the two chambers' versions of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, bills that would require online platforms to gather more information about their sellers, a proposal to end de minimis eligibility for Chinese exports, a directive to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to offer a broad exclusion process for Section 301 duties, and major changes to antidumping duty and countervailing duty laws.