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Forced Labor. The House approved Feb. 13 the No Dollars to Uyghur Forced Labor Act (H.R. 4039), which would prohibit the use of funds supporting any activities within China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
The No Forced Labor on TV Act (H.R. 7364, introduced Feb. 15 by Rep. Curtis, R-Utah) would define the advertising of products produced or manufactured using the forced labor of individuals in China as a deceptive practice and prohibit such products from being advertised on TV.
GSP. Press reports recently quoted House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chair Jason Smith, R-Neb., as saying he sees “a lot of momentum” in Congress to reauthorize the Generalized System of Preferences.
GSP provides duty-free treatment for imports of thousands of products from 119 developing nations. It expired Dec. 31, 2020, meaning GSP-eligible goods have been subject to U.S. tariffs since then. Congress must act for the program to be reauthorized, but lawmakers have failed to do so despite traditional bipartisan support for GSP due to disagreements over whether and how much it should be reformed.
The Trade Subcommittee held a hearing on GSP reauthorization nearly six months ago but there has been little news about it since. Nevertheless, Smith reportedly told an audience at a trade group-sponsored event that “I think we’re making good progress in being able to bring folks together on this.”
Exports. The House passed Feb. 15 the Unlocking Our Domestic LNG Potential Act (H.R. 7176), which would eliminate the requirement for the Department of Energy to authorize exports of liquefied natural gas and instead give the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission sole authority over the approval process.
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