The House Ways and Means Committee is set on April 17 to consider several just-introduced trade bills, including a retroactive extension of the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program, new restrictions on de minimis and restrictions on electric vehicle tax credits.

FORT LAUDERDALE -- Just weeks after the Agricultural Marketing Service's rules on import filing and certification requirements for organic goods took effect March 19 (see 2402270052), the agency is still facing the problem of "many uncertified importers," but "we're making good progress," said Jennifer Tucker, deputy director of USDA's National Organics Program, on April 16.

FORT LAUDERDALE -- The effective date for the Federal Maritime Commission's new rule on detention and demurrage may not provide a long enough "runway" for industry to prepare, given that it's a "systemic alteration" of how the industry operates, said Ashley Craig of Venable. He said he suspects there will be a lot of "head scratching" after the rule becomes effective on May 28 (see 2402230049).

A new bill from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's top Republican and a Democratic member would renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act trade preference program for 16 years, offer more flexibility on country eligibility reviews, and soften the high-income graduation rules.

A recent bill from House Ways and Means Committee member Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, would change the drawback statute so that items that have a Harmonized Tariff Schedule description beginning with "other" no longer would be ineligible for unused substitution drawback, drawback expert Dave Corn said.

The Treasury Department announced on April 12 that it will add Russian-origin aluminum, copper and nickel to existing import bans on Russian goods, which already cover Russian jewelry and seafood. The ban applies to all aluminum, copper and nickel of Russian origin produced on or after April 13.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said she hopes "we can announce the result of [the Section 301] review soon," though she later declined to say whether that would be when she appears next week before the House and Senate committees that oversee her office.

Lori Wallach, head of Rethink Trade and a longtime free-trade skeptic, said the House Ways and Means Committee plans to vote next week on a new bill to restrict de minimis, which wouldn't allow goods subject to Section 301 tariffs to enter through the de minimis pathway. The Section 301 tariffs covered roughly two-thirds of Chinese exports at the time the last round was imposed, but trade flows have shifted as a result of the tariffs, as imports of those tariff lines from China fell by 13%, according to the International Trade Commission.

A bill that directs the Biden administration to promulgate rules within 18 months to require data submissions for de minimis importers was introduced April 9 by Sens. Mike Braun, R-Ind., and Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., called the Ensure Accountability in De Minimis Act.

Work gloves manufactured by Shanghai Select Products Company, and its subsidiaries Select (Nantong) Safety Products Co. Limited and Select Protective Technology (HK) Limited, cannot enter the U.S. because CBP says it has information that reasonably indicates the gloves were made with convict labor.