U.S. Chamber's International Policy Update (September 23, 2011)
International Policy Update
Senate Approves GSP and TAA, Opening Path for FTAs
Brilliant Testifies before House Foreign Affairs Committee on FTAs
Donohue Urges U.S.-Canada Energy Partnership
Bipartisan Senate Group Releases New China Currency Legislation
USTR Files WTO Case Challenging Chinese Chicken Imports
CR to Include Short-Term Extension of Ex-Im Bank
ChamberPost: This Week in Trade
After four days of debate, the Senate on September 22 approved a bill renewing the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) programs, which now goes to the House. The final vote was 70-27; the vote on the TAA portion was 69-28. The wide bipartisan margin by which the bill was approved is widely seen as removing the most difficult remaining obstacle to approval of the pending trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama.
Majority Leader Reid thanked Senate Republicans for the strong bipartisan vote. Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said: "The time has come to send the three pending free trade agreements to Congress... Both parties in the Senate have acted in good faith to move this process forward... I kept my promise that I would allow TAA to move forward in the Senate as long as Republicans had a chance to amend it. It is time for the administration to deliver on theirs. It's time for the President to send up these long-pending FTAs without delay."
House Speaker John Boehner also issued a statement: "The bill that passed the Senate today is the result of months of hard work by Chairman Camp and Chairman Baucus. We await the President's submission of the three trade agreements sitting on his desk so the House can consider them in tandem with the Senate-passed GSP/TAA legislation. If the President submits these agreements promptly, I'm confident that all four bills can be signed into law by mid-October." Some see the October 12-14 State Visit of Korean President Lee Myung-bak as an action-forcing event for passage of the FTAs and GSP/TAA, at least in the House.
The Chamber applauded the Senate's approval of GSP and TAA in a press statement. The Chamber issued a Key Vote letter on Monday in favor of GSP and TAA and met with many senators in the course of the week to urge their support.
On September 23, U.S. Chamber Senior Vice President for International Affairs Myron Brilliant testified before the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs on "Job Creation Made Easy: The Colombia, Panama, and South Korea Free Trade Agreements." Other testifying included: Luis Arguello Sr., CEO and President, DemeTech; Drew Greenblatt, President, Marlin Steel Wire Products; and Thea Lee, Deputy Chief of Staff, AFL-CIO.
Making the case for the passage of the pending trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama, Brilliant stated: "If the United States is to double exports within five years, the proven export-boosting record of these reciprocal trade agreements will be indispensable. On average, U.S. exports to new FTA partner countries have grown four times as rapidly in the 3-5 year period following the FTA's entry into force as U.S. exports to the world, according to an analysis by the U.S. Chamber. Countries are rushing to negotiate new trade accords - but America is being left behind. In the first month after the entry-into-force of the European Union-Korea Free Trade Agreement on July 1, EU exports to Korea had risen 36% from their level a year earlier. Meanwhile, U.S. exports to Korea increased by just 3% percent in the same period, and U.S. market share in Korea is in decline. U.S. farmers have already lost more than $1 billion in sales to Colombia in the two years since that country implemented a trade deal with Argentina and Brazil."
On September 22, a bipartisan group of senators unveiled a currency bill that combines elements of China currency legislation passed by the House last year with those of a Senate China currency bill previously championed by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC). Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said that he would push for a vote on China currency legislation in October ahead of votes on the pending FTAs. They predicted the bill's approval by a substantial bipartisan majority when it comes up for a vote in the coming weeks.
On September 21, the U.S. Chamber, along with 50 other organizations, sent a letter to Senator Reid and Minority Leader McConnell (R-KY) urging them to not support unilateral legislation aimed at pressuring China to accelerate the appreciation of its currency against the dollar. The Chamber and other signatories believe that China should move more expeditiously toward a market-determined RMB exchange rate, and the Chamber supports strong bilateral and multilateral efforts on this front. However, the unilateral tariff legislation will undermine U.S. economic interests rather than advancing them. Legislation could chill U.S. exports to China, which is our fastest growing major export market; freeze discussion and progress on a host of other important issues in our bilateral trade relationship; and expose the U.S. to criticisms of adherence to international trade norms.
On September 20, USTR filed a WTO case challenging China's restrictions on certain U.S. chicken imports and requesting dispute settlement consultations. Since September 2009, China has imposed antidumping duties on U.S. broiler chicken products (chicken products not cut into pieces, and various chicken cuts and pieces), which it claims were subsidized and sold at less than fair value in the Chinese market. Prior to September 2009, the United States was China's largest supplier of chicken broiler products, but these U.S. exports to China have since dropped by ninety percent, costing the U.S. poultry industry nearly $1 billion in sales to China so far.
WTO rules permit member countries to impose duties on imports of merchandise that are found to be dumped or subsidized in ways injurious to the domestic industry, but imposes a variety of rules regarding the conduct of investigations and making determinations. The U.S. asserts that China has not followed various specific procedures and legal standards required under WTO rules when conducting investigations and making determinations. Specifically, the U.S. argues that China has failed to observe numerous WTO transparency and due process requirements; has not yet properly explained the grounds for its findings; has incorrectly calculated the dumping margins and subsidy rates; and has not supported its claims of injury to China's domestic industry.
Free Trade: Job Creation Made Cheap by Myron Brilliant
EPI's Trade Studies: Here We Go Again by John Murphy
Best Chance to Pass FTAs is Now by Sean Hackbarth
FTA Delay Causing America to Fall Behind by Sean Hackbarth
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