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Trade Activity
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Volume 16, Issue 35
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Wednesday, February 18, 2009
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Ways and Means Plans Busy Trade Agenda During 111th Congress
The House Ways and Means Committee has recently set forth a list of hearings and oversight-related activities that it and its subcommittees plan to conduct during the 111th Congress. With respect to trade and business issues, this list includes the following.
Full Committee
discussion with the U.S. Trade Representative on congressional priorities and concerns related to international trade, including the presidents trade proposals for 2009 and 2010 and whether the USTR has adequate resources to carry out its mandate with respect to enforcing U.S. trade agreements
current economic conditions, including long-term economic outlook, the state of the economy, prospects for recovery and long-term growth, and U.S. economic competitiveness
simplifying and reforming the tax code
Trade Subcommittee
free trade agreements with Colombia, Korea and Panama, with a focus on issues that need to be addressed in order for Congress to consider these FTAs (i.e., violence against workers and other issues that inhibit the exercise of basic internationally-recognized labor standards in Colombia and non-tariff market access barriers in the manufacturing and agricultural areas in Korea)
implemented FTAs with Peru, Central America, the Dominican Republic, Oman, Bahrain, Singapore, Chile, Australia, Morocco, Jordan, Israel, Canada and Mexico
uncompleted FTA negotiations with Thailand, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, the Southern African Customs Union and Ecuador and proposed negotiations with the P-4 countries (Brunei, Chile, Singapore and New Zealand)
major U.S. trade preference programs (Generalized System of Preferences, African Growth and Opportunity Act, Caribbean Basin Initiative, Andean Trade Preference Act, Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement Act), including an evaluation of the efficacy of these programs and options for long-term renewal and reform
U.S. preference programs for Haiti (HOPE I and HOPE II) and evaluations of proposals to assist Haitis economic recovery
U.S. goals in the Doha Round negotiations in the areas of agriculture, manufacturing, services and trade remedy laws, as well as an evaluation of reasons for the current impasse and how to break it
the World Trade Organization dispute settlement system, including WTO decisions involving U.S. trade remedy laws
U.S. enforcement of WTO rights and rights under FTAs and other agreements, including (a) proposals to strengthen U.S. trade remedy laws and improve U.S. tools as leverage to open foreign markets and other areas, (b) proposals to strengthen border enforcement related to counterfeit imports and import safety, and (c) administration of U.S. trade remedy laws by the Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission and the USTRs role in enforcement
systemic problems in U.S.-China trade relations, including issues related to Chinas continued violation of U.S. intellectual property rights and use of industrial subsidies and Chinas alleged manipulation of its currency
trade deficit with Europe as well as sectoral issues such as Airbus subsidies, discriminatory regulations in high-technology transfer, attempts at technology transfer, discriminatory barriers to U.S. farm exports, European Union practices in the Doha Round negotiations and EU practices concerning regional trade agreements
U.S. trade relations with developing countries, the role of developing countries in the WTO and the world trading system, and the extent to which developing countries have benefited from the trading system over the past 20 years, why many of them have lost ground and what can be done in the area of trade and aid to reverse this trend
options to improve education, on-the-job training, trade adjustment and portable health care/pensions
the impact of mandatory proposals to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, including with respect to addressing carbon leakage, domestic and export competitiveness concerns of carbon-intensive industries, and issues related to consistency with international trade rules
oversight hearing with U.S. Customs and Border Protection on priorities and concerns related to customs revenue functions and trade facilitation, including enforcement of U.S. customs laws and regulations and CBPs capacity and resources to carry out its mandate
prepare an omnibus miscellaneous tariff bill
oversight hearing with the ITC concerning overall priorities and operations, including whether the ITC has adequate resources and technical expertise to carry out its mandate
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