Wyden Says Senate Trade Title Will Be Core of New Committee Work

Wyden, who was one of more than a dozen Democrats who spoke at a May 3 press conference announcing the initiative, mentioned a few of the planks of that trade title (see 2106090041) that he said Democrats strongly support:

• Denying benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program for countries that do not protect women from discrimination in hiring, stop violence and sexual harassment at work, and do not guarantee women's equal protection under the law (see 2006220039)
• Fighting censorship
• Protecting Americans' privacy.

Wyden said the trade title "went after China's trade cheating," in his press conference remarks. He also said: "Democrats feel very strongly about toughening trade enforcement that protects American businesses and jobs."

The trade title that passed the Senate in 2021 -- which renewed GSP, authorized a new Miscellaneous Tariff Bill and asked the administration to establish another Section 301 exclusion process -- never became law because the Conference Committee could not agree on what elements of the Senate trade title and what elements of the House trade chapter to keep or jettison.

Although Wyden emphasized how the Senate trade title went after trade cheating, it did not include any elements that addressed antidumping or countervailing duty law, much of what is generally meant by "trade cheating." China's intellectual property violations also are considered trade cheating, and IP was addressed in the title, by requiring an annual report by CBP on seizures of counterfeits, what country they were from, how they arrived, and in what categories. CBP then will be required to increase inspections of imports from the top source countries for counterfeit goods, as identified by the report. The bill also authorizes CBP to share information on suspected violations of intellectual property rights with "any other party with an interest in the merchandise." This last plank is expected to be part of a customs update bill that would include proposals from CBP's 21st Century Customs Framework.

When asked after the press conference if he would support the addition of Level the Playing Field Act 2.0, a bill that proposes changing trade remedy law to make it easier and/or faster for U.S. firms to win complaints, and an element of the House trade proposal in the first China package, Wyden avoided answering.

"We believe the place to start in terms of fighting China's trade cheating is with the trade title that got a huge vote on the floor of the United States Senate," he said during the press conference. When asked about what addressing "trade cheating" referred to, Wyden replied: "What I said is what I meant. We want to start with that [trade title]. Sen. [Mike] Crapo and I have been talking at length about it."

He also declined to clarify whether the language about Section 301 exclusions that was in that trade title would be in the next round of legislation.

The trade title would have directed the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to analyze the impact of Section 301 duties on consumers and small businesses before imposing tariffs, "with a goal of mitigating the impact of duties ... including by evaluating alternatives or modifications ... ."

It also said the USTR must establish an exclusion process under Section 301 "unless [USTR] determines and certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that maintaining an exclusion process -- ‘(A) would impair the ability of the United States to maintain effective pressure to remove unreasonable or discriminatory practices... or (B) is impractical due to the low value of the duties imposed.'"

The trade title also proposed renewing the GSP program for more than five years, and it would have authorized a new Miscellaneous Tariff Bill.

Most of the economic planks in the new China package highlighted in the press conference either restrict exports to China or Chinese involvement in the U.S. economy, such as by buying American companies or land. On the floor of the Senate, just before the press conference, Schumer said: "We must not aid and abet the Chinese government’s development of advanced technologies -- like microchips, 5G, AI, quantum computing, and more -- that will shape the course of this century.

"We must limit investment capital from flowing to the Xi Regime, the Chinese government, and prevent them from taking advantage of America’s critical assets."

However, a few import-related issues were brought up at the press conference and in questions from reporters after it was over. Schumer added during the Q& A that moving away from sourcing critical minerals from China would be a very important part of the package.

Sen. Jeff Merkley, chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, said during the press conference that the commission has recommended "strengthening enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. America should never tolerate forced labor or genocide."