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. S. 2777 (introduced Sept. 11 by Sen. Markey, D-Mass.) would exempt small business concerns from “reciprocal” tariffs and refund to them the amount of any such duties paid.
Three Democrats issued a statement Sept. 11 calling on President Trump to immediately end the “unlawful” additional tariffs he imposed on imports from Brazil because that country’s supreme court has convicted former president Jair Bolsonaro for an attempted coup. They asserted that these tariffs have damaged U.S. economic and national security interests by prompting Brazil to increasingly export its goods to China instead of the U.S.
Trade preferences. The HOPE for Haitian Prosperity Act (H.R. 5209, introduced Sept. 8 by Rep. Plaskett, D-V.I.) would extend through 2035 the period during which imports of certain Haitian-manufactured textiles and apparel, and other goods produced in Haiti, are eligible for duty-free treatment. It also contains provisions to authorize additional technical assistance and capacity building in Haiti to close utilization gaps in the program.
H.R. 5274 (introduced Sept. 10 by Rep. Keating, D-Mass.) would encourage increased trade and investment between the U.S. and countries in the Western Balkans.
Russia. H.R. 5292 (introduced Sept. 10 by Rep. Wilson, R-S.C.) would reimpose Jackson-Vanik restrictions on Russia, thereby withdrawing permanent normal trade relations status for imports from that country and raising the possibility that such imports could be subject to higher Column 2 duty rates.
China. Democratic members of the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee wrote to President Trump Sept. 11 to express “profound concern” about reports that his administration plans to “take a 15% cut of the sales revenue of certain advanced semiconductor chips sales in China in exchange for issuing the export licenses that permit those sales.” They alleged that this arrangement is unlawful in light of the Constitution’s prohibition on export taxes and the Export Controls Act of 2018’s prohibition on fees for considering export licenses. They also argued that charging U.S. companies to export “establishes a dangerous precedent that both threatens America’s national security and opens the door to rampant corruption.”
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