For more information on pursuing trade policy interests through the legislative process, please contact Nicole Bivens Collinson at (202) 730-4956 or via email.
Trade policy. The Economic Security and Diplomacy Act (H.R. 10100, introduced Nov. 5 by Rep. Moolenaar, R-Mich.) would streamline State Department efforts to advance U.S. economic security interests by:
- consolidating all State offices working on economic and technology issues under a new deputy secretary for economic security, who would be responsible for all department matters relating to U.S. economic security such as sanctions policy, trade policy, export controls, supply chain security, foreign assistance, and combatting economic coercion;
- redesignating the assistant secretary for economic and business affairs as the assistant secretary for trade and investment security, responsible for all department matters related to outbound investment restrictions and inbound investment screening;
- redesignating the assistant secretary for energy resources as the assistant secretary for supply chain security, responsible for all department matters related to federal acquisition policy, forced labor in U.S. supply chains, development finance, and efforts pertaining to critical minerals and pharmaceutical supply chains; and
- creating a new program to place diplomats in key foreign capitals with an explicit focus on advocating for policies to protect U.S. and allied economic security interests.
Export controls. In a Nov. 4 letter to Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Alan Estevez, Rep. McCaul (R-Texas) alleged that the Bureau of Industry and Security’s “overall aversion to enforcing export controls” against the Chinese semiconductor industry “is undermining the integrity of the U.S. export control regime.” McCaul specifically targeted BIS licensing policy and enforcement with respect to Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, stating that several administrations “have all agreed that SMIC is a threat to U.S. national security” and that there is “growing evidence that SMIC is violating U.S. export control laws.”
McCaul therefore called on BIS to immediately initiate end-use checks on all SMIC facilities in China to verify that BIS export licenses are not being violated, to pause all existing licenses for SMIC if China is unwilling to immediately agree to a comprehensive audit of all SMIC facilities and books, and to respond to any violations with “swift enforcement actions, including possibly criminal prosecutions.”
Dumping. Rep. Moolenaar recently called on Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to ensure that the DOC applies more broadly in antidumping duty investigations special rules under 19 USC 1677b(f)(1)(A) that allow the DOC to adjust reported costs when they do not reasonably reflect the costs associated with the production and sale of subject goods. Given China’s “widespread overcapacity and the subsequent market distortions,” Moolenaar said, “I believe that this provision should be applied rigorously to ensure that the costs submitted by foreign producers do not unfairly skew antidumping calculations.”
IPR. H.R. 10103 (introduced Nov. 8 by Rep. Issa, R-Calif.) would amend titles 17, 18, and 35 of the U.S. Code, the Plant Variety Protection Act, and the Lanham Act to require the submission of a report to Congress before the negotiation of any international agreement relating to an intellectual property right.
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