For more information on pursuing trade policy interests through the legislative process, please contact Nicole Bivens Collinson at (202) 730-4956 or via email.
Tariffs. H.R. 2213 (introduced March 18 by Rep. Malliotakis, R-N.Y.) would authorize the president to enter into trade agreements for the reciprocal elimination of duties or other import restrictions with respect to medical goods.
Trade talks. The House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee will hold a hearing March 25 on U.S. trade negotiation priorities. This hearing can be viewed via live webcast available at https://waysandmeans.house.gov. Testimony will be from invited witnesses only (though none have yet been identified), but written comments for the record may be submitted no later than April 8.
Timber. The Strengthen Wood Product Supply Chains Act (introduced March 18 by Reps. Yakym, R-Ind., and Costa, D-Calif.) aims to streamline imports of wood products.
A press release from Yakym’s office states that over the past few years wood importers have begun to have difficulty getting their imports through U.S. ports, leading to “valuable merchandise being stranded at our ports while importers attempt to convince” U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Department of Agriculture, and the Fish and Wildlife Service “that their products are not illegal.”
In response, the bill would require these agencies to notify importers within five days if their product has been detained, provide a specific reason for such detentions, describe the information importers must provide to accelerate the disposition of detentions, and decide within 30 days whether to seize or release the goods to the importers (which decisions could be appealed). The bill would also allow importers to transfer their products outside the U.S. if they choose.
China. The Foreign Investment Guardrails to Help Thwart China Act (H.R. 2246, introduced by Rep. Barr, R-Ky.) would prohibit and require notifications with respect to certain investments by U.S. persons in China.
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