The House is scheduled to mark up a bill on Oct. 29 that would reauthorize the Export-Import Bank until 2029, increase the bank’s lending authority and introduces a “temporary board” in a situation where the bank lacks a quorum in the future. The bill, introduced by House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters, D-Calif., would also rename the bank the Export Finance Agency. Among the most notable portions of the bill is a provision that would increase the bank’s lending power gradually over several years, from $145 billion in 2020 to $175 billion in 2026.
South Korea is increasing its imports of Vietnamese agricultural goods in order to balance Vietnam's trade deficit between the two countries, South Korea said in an Oct. 24 press release, according to an unofficial translation. South Korea said it plans to import more Vietnamese tropical fruits to strengthen “Vietnam’s agricultural competitiveness.” South Korea said it “will be able to alleviate trade imbalances in the medium and long term through this.” The press release came after the two countries recently met during the Korea-Vietnam Economic Cooperation Committee in Hanoi, where they discussed trade and economic cooperation.
President Donald Trump, speaking at a fracking conference in Pennsylvania, first said that Democrats don't want to put the NAFTA rewrite up for a vote, then said, "But I think they're going to put it up because everybody wants it, and I think ultimately, they're going to do the right thing."
The Trump administration removed sanctions against Turkey it had imposed just one week earlier, drawing criticism and warnings from some Congress members of future sanctions if Turkey does not end military operations in Syria.
Although Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley represents Iowa, a major pork, corn and soybean exporting state, he's not concerned about the figures President Donald Trump touted as he described the outlines of a Phase 1 deal with China. Trump said China would be buying up to $50 billion in American commodities; other administration figures later clarified the promise was for $40 billion to $50 billion, and it would ramp up over two years.
Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, who served as the Republican party whip for five years until 2018, said he doesn't think the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act would come up this week. The most likely way for the Hong Kong bill to move that quickly would be to see if it could be subject to unanimous consent, which means a voice vote with no debate. Bringing up a bill in this way is to "hotline" it.
The United Kingdom Parliament on Oct. 22 voted to approve the broad outlines of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s new transition deal for exiting the United Kingdom. The 329-299 vote on the implementation bill’s “second reading” in Parliament would normally move the bill forward to a detailed examination of the bill at committee stage and then a final vote on the “third reading,” though U.K. lawmakers in a second vote rejected Johnson’s proposed three-day timetable for considering the bill and a new schedule has yet to be proposed, according to a report from the BBC.
The House plans to pass a “strong, bipartisan” sanctions package this week in response to the Trump administration's decision to lift sanctions on Turkey in exchange for a ceasefire in Syria, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. Pelosi’s comments came after the Trump administration announced last week it would be suspending further sanctions on Turkey and plans to lift recently announced sanctions in exchange for the ceasefire.
Companies and trade groups warned the Treasury Department that the proposed regulations for the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act may repel foreign investors and customers, fails to clearly define “critical technologies” and could place trusted trading partners at disadvantages, according to comments due Oct. 17.
In the Oct. 11-16 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted: