Rep. Jennifer Wexton, D-Va., called on DHS to do more isotopic testing for enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. The plea for more isotopic testing, which came in a Nov. 29 letter, is in response to a Reuters report finding that of 86 samples tested from December 2022 to May, 15% tested positive for Xinjiang cotton (see 2309010038).

A House Oversight Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy and Regulatory Affairs hearing focused on the need for more domestic mining of critical minerals, but administration witnesses noted that imports -- and subsidizing processing of domestically mined minerals -- are just as essential to uninterrupted supply.

A researcher in the International Trade Commission's Office of Industry and Competitiveness Analysis said the share of de minimis shipments from China is falling -- it was 58% in 2021 -- but goods made in China may be coming from countries whose shipments are rising, such as Canada. Canada accounts for 8% of small-value packages. De minimis shipments are subject to risk-based screening, but the importers do not pay any tariffs.

The Coalition for a Prosperous America, joined by organizations that advocate for opiate addicts and by police organizations, asked the White House to "delink e-commerce transactions from Section 321 privileges," in a letter sent Nov. 29.

Prominent members of the House of Representatives objected to a USMCA panel ruling last week that said Canada's rewrite of its tariff rate quotas for U.S. dairy exports didn't violate the trade agreement (see 2311240002). U.S. farmers thought they would have the opportunity to sell directly to Canadian consumers, but dairy processors in Canada still control access.

Three-quarters of the Republican majority on the House Ways and Means Committee, along with five committee Democrats, told the U.S. trade representative that they oppose her "decision to abandon important bipartisan digital trade proposals at the World Trade Organization (WTO). This action, which was made without sufficient consultation with Congress, runs counter to the interests of American workers and businesses of all sizes and cedes more leverage to other foreign powers, including the Peoples’ Republic of China, that seek to write the rules of the 21st-century digital economy. We urge the administration to reconsider its approach."

More than 200 companies, and local and national business groups asked the leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee to pass a Miscellaneous Tariff Bill that refunds the tariffs paid since the beginning of 2021 and extends tariff relief through 2026.

The Senate voted 87-11 to approve a laddered temporary spending bill that will continue government appropriations at last fiscal year's level through Jan. 19 for some agencies and through Feb. 2 for others.

The House of Representatives voted against proceeding to consider an appropriations bill that covers Commerce, Justice and Science related agencies, by a vote of 198-223.

The House of Representatives will vote on an amendment that would require the Commerce Department to conduct "a comprehensive study on domestic tin plate steel production and the demand for steel food cans in the U.S. ahead of moving forward with proposed tin-plate steel tariffs."