Senators Hope to Tack Trade Items Onto Must-Pass Defense Policy Bill

Most are only tangentially related to military issues -- if at all -- and most will not be accepted during the amendment process. Even if they are accepted, only one -- on Chinese economic coercion -- is similar to a House amendment that already was attached to that chamber's NDAA.

Some of the most significant trade amendments proposed are:

Section 301 exclusions. Requiring an exclusion process to open within 90 days of passage for goods subject to Section 301 duties. This amendment was proposed by Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., who is retiring from Congress. The amendment does not describe what has to be taken into account, unlike the Section 301 directive that was part of the China package, but did not become law.

Section 232 authority. Moving the investigations under Section 232 out of the Commerce Department and into the Pentagon. These tariff and quota actions are justified under national security, so Toomey and Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, argue that the Defense Department should initiate investigations, and have as much say as the Commerce Department in making recommendations to the president. The amendment is silent, however, on what criteria should be considered on whether imports impair national security, or how that national security is defined.

Expanded Seafood Import Monitoring Program. Expanding SIMP to cover all fish and shellfish. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, wants the Commerce Department to expand SIMP to cover all seafood imports within two years of the bill's passage. His amendment also requires CBP to improve ACE for SIMP within six months of passage, with a "system that prioritizes the use of enumerated data types, such as checkboxes, dropdown menus, or radio buttons, and any additional elements the Agency finds necessary, among other options, rather than open text fields, for -- (1) authorization to fish; (2) unique vessel identifier (if available); (3) catch document identifier; (4) location of wild-capture harvest and landing or aquaculture location; (5) type of fishing gear used to harvest the fish; (6) name of farm or aquaculture facility, if applicable; and (7) location of aquaculture facility, if applicable."

SIMP study. Requiring an analysis of whether more species should be added to SIMP, either because their import is harming the U.S. fishing industry, or species are over-fished, or the species is linked to human trafficking or it's frequently mislabeled, defrauding consumers. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., introduced this amendment, which also enumerates nine pieces of information importers of current SIMP species should be submitting and that the data must be submitted at least 168 hours ahead of entry. The report on expanding SIMP would be due within 180 days of passage.

New manufacturing resiliency office. Requiring the establishment of the Office of Manufacturing Security and Resilience within 180 days of passage. This office would "encourage and incentivize the reduced reliance of domestic enterprises and domestic manufacturers on critical goods from countries of concern," and would encourage relocation of factories from those locations to allies. This amendment was proposed by Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-Ga..

Supply chain resiliency. Requiring a strategy, led by the U.S. Trade Representative, for working with Canada and Mexico to improve the resiliency of North American supply chains, "including by reducing overdependence on, and concentration of critical supply chains in, countries that are foreign adversaries." This amendment requires the strategy be submitted to Congress within 180 days of passage, and was introduced by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del.

Taiwan FTA. Expressing Congress's view that the administration should negotiate a "free trade agreement with Taiwan that provides high levels of labor rights and environmental protection as soon as possible." This non-binding resolution was sponsored by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. Another amendment, from Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., ends the ambiguity of how the U.S. would respond to an invasion of Taiwan, and also says negotiations should begin on an FTA with Taiwan.

Lower tariffs for some countries. Granting the administration the ability to lower tariffs or change tariff-rate quotas for countries that have been subject to economic coercion by a foreign adversary. This amendment, sponsored by Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., and Sen Chris Coons, D-Del., is quite narrow, however, as it only applies to goods eligible for the Generalized System of Preferences, and only if the country exporting the good is responsible for at least 35% of the value of the export. It also specifically bars the president from reducing antidumping or countervailing duties.

The House NDAA also addressed economic coercion, but just created an interagency task force "to streamline U.S. tools and mechanisms for deterring and addressing Beijing’s economic coercion and expand cooperation with the private sector as well as U.S. allies and partners on this important matter."

The House NDAA also asks the Pentagon to submit a plan to Congress "to lessen the United States' dependence on rubber developed in foreign nations, including hostile actors like China, and to develop a consistent domestic supply of the material."

It also asks the Government Accountability Office to review the implementation of end-use monitoring of exports.

The House version requires the Pentagon to produce a report on critical minerals needed in the military, "including the gaps and vulnerabilities in supply chains of such materials."

It bans the sale of goods made with forced labor from Xinjiang from being sold in commissary stores and military exchanges.

And it requires the Department of Homeland Security "to research additional technological solutions to target and detect illicit fentanyl and its precursors, enhance targeting of counterfeit pills and illicit pill presses through nonintrusive, noninvasive, and other visual screening technologies, and enhance data-driven targeting to increase seizure rates of fentanyl and its precursors." It also asks the department to report to Congress on how effective current technologies are at "detecting, deterring, and addressing fentanyl, a cost-benefit analysis of such technologies, and how this analysis is used in technology procurement decisions."