The World Customs Organization issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., joined by fellow committee members Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., and Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., asked the Biden administration to reinstate Magnitsky Sanctions against Dan Gertler, an Israeli businessman with mining operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said he doesn't know when Katherine Tai, the U.S. trade representative nominee, might get a hearing in front of the Senate Finance Committee. He told reporters on a press call Feb. 2 that it's likely that Finance will question the Health and Human Services secretary nominee ahead of Tai. He also said he doesn't know how the impeachment trial for Donald Trump could affect the timing. Grassley said he supports President Joe Biden's approach of trying to get Europe, other countries in North America, South Korea and Japan “on the same wavelength with regard to China,” and when he has the opportunity to talk to Tai, he'll be asking about “how long they're going to wait to follow up on phase two” of trade talks with China. He said he doesn't expect the issue of Section 301 exclusions to be on his list of topics to bring up. “I just haven’t had a lot of contact in the last six months with these business interests [with expired exclusions], maybe my staff has,” he said.
Speakers for Navigating the New Normal, a keynote panel at a trade symposium convened by The Economist Feb. 2, discussed whether the political pressure to bring supply chains closer to home will overcome the fact that Vietnam's and China's economies weathered the pandemic better than Europe, with no conclusion, but also talked about what the future of the “special relationship” between the U.S. and the United Kingdom will be in trade.
Thomas Vilsack, President Joe Biden’s nominee for agriculture secretary, said the agency will prioritize foreign market access for U.S. exporters and secure more trade agreements centered around agriculture. But Vilsack also said increasing competitiveness for U.S. exporters will be challenging, particularly because of the lasting impacts of the Trump administration's unpredictable trade policy.
The U.S. is reviewing its sanctions authorities to impose restrictions on Myanmar officials following a coup by the country’s military earlier this week, a State Department official said Feb. 2. The agency is considering sanctioning the country's military, including senior military officials, and is working with other countries in the region to impose similar restrictions, the official said. “We will take action against those responsible, including through a careful review of our current sanctions posture,” the official told reporters, adding that the sanctions could also target companies with ties to Myanmar’s military.
The World Customs Organization issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The Senate voted 55-42 Jan. 28 to invoke cloture on homeland security secretary nominee Alejandro Mayorkas, setting up a Feb. 1 confirmation vote. Six Republicans voted to move forward on Mayorkas, including the Homeland Security Committee's incoming lead Republican, Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio. The chamber also set a Feb. 2 vote to confirm transportation secretary nominee Pete Buttigieg, which he’s likely to easily clear. The Senate Commerce Committee recently advanced Buttigieg 21-3.
Electronic Export Information requirements for Puerto Rico treat the territory like a foreign country, unnecessarily burden U.S. shippers and go against the wishes of the Puerto Rican people and government, said Mike Mullen, executive director of the Express Association of America. Speaking on a Jan. 28 call hosted by a Commerce Department advisory committee, Mullen said the EAA spoke with a member of President Joe Biden's transition team in early January about eliminating the filing requirements.
More foreign investors are opting to submit a filing with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. out of an abundance of caution, even when there is no mandatory filing requirement, George Grammas, a trade lawyer with Squire Patton, said. Grammas said “sophisticated” investors are especially likely to file before the investment is complete, particularly as CFIUS continues a trend of reviewing years-old investments.