Legislative Update: Origin, Trade Promotion

For more information on pursuing trade policy interests through the legislative process, please contact Nicole Bivens Collinson at (202) 730-4956 or via email.

Origin. The Country of Origin Labeling Online Act (H.R. 9057, introduced May 29 by Rep. Gimenez, R-Fla.) would require online sellers to clearly disclose a product’s country of origin and the seller’s principal place of business. “Currently, many products sold in stores must disclose their country of origin, but those requirements are not consistently applied to online sales,” a press release from Gimenez’s office explained.

Trade Promotion. The Building Overseas Opportunities and Strategic Trade for American Businesses Act (H.R. 9062, introduced May 29 by Rep. Kim, R-Calif.) would strengthen the State Department’s commercial diplomacy efforts by (1) establishing a new specialized Foreign Service track that recruits officers with private-sector, financial, and business expertise to support U.S. companies in overseas markets, (2) building a professional commercial diplomacy workforce trained in commercial advocacy, market access, trade barriers, and business intelligence, (3) expanding hiring authorities to recruit trade and economic experts and grow the commercial diplomacy workforce to 500 officers by 2028, (4) strengthening coordination between the departments of State and Commerce to reduce duplication and better align U.S. commercial diplomacy efforts abroad, and (5) elevating economic diplomacy as a national security priority and positioning the State Department to more aggressively advance U.S. economic interests overseas.