Legislative Update: Trade Preferences, IPR Enforcement Most Likely to Move

(World Trade Interactive)

Congress returned from its summer recess September 8 but has little time to work before its planned September 26 adjournment. Despite the lack of time on the legislative calendar, a number of trade-related measures could see action before the year is out, particularly if lawmakers return for a “lame duck” session following the November elections.

Trade Preferences
It remains unclear whether the Generalized System of Preferences and the Andean Trade Preference Act, which are slated to expire December 31, will be reauthorized before that date. The House of Representatives approved July 29 legislation (H.R. 6560) that would extend GSP for a year without change, allow duty-free entry for certain pants and other bottoms imported from the Dominican Republic and repeal the “abundant supply” provision in the African Growth and Opportunity Act. But the bill does not include an extension of the ATPA, where the situation is more complicated. For example, some lawmakers have raised the possibility of suspending ATPA benefits for Bolivia and Ecuador due to certain political disputes. Relations with Bolivia were further worsened recently when that country expelled the U.S. ambassador after accusing him of supporting separatist movements.

The Senate may act on H.R. 6560 later this month because of the pending expiration of the two programs and the fact that the other provisions are relatively non-controversial. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus is reportedly interested in extending both GSP and the ATPA.

Free Trade Agreements
Supporters of the U.S.-Colombia FTA are now focusing on a possible lame duck session of Congress to push through implementing legislation. Bush administration officials are continuing to press Democratic leaders to hold a vote, pointing out at a Sept. 10 rally on Capitol Hill that the FTA would help boost exports at a time when exports are making a significant contribution to U.S. economic growth. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s position “has not changed,” a Reuters article quoted a Pelosi spokesman as saying. “She has said she is open to a vote on Colombia, but only after Congress addresses domestic economic concerns – such as trade adjustment assistance and a second stimulus bill.”

The fate of the Panama FTA is directly tied to that of the Colombia FTA. The last remaining political obstacle to congressional approval of the Panama agreement was eliminated this month when a man accused of killing a U.S. soldier in 1992 stepped down as head of the country’s parliament. But Bush administration officials have consistently said they want Congress to consider the three pending FTAs in the order they were negotiated (Colombia, Panama, Korea), and Panamanian officials said recently that they will not push for that order to be changed.

There is little to no chance that Congress will take up the Korea FTA this year, as the schedule is too limited and there are too many issues left to be resolved. Korean Ambassador Lee Tae-Sik warned last week that the longer the U.S. waits to implement the Korea FTA the more danger there is that U.S. companies could lose market share to competitors in other countries that are also negotiating FTAs with Korea.

Trade Adjustment Assistance
Chairman Baucus has been pushing for a Senate Finance Committee markup of legislation to extend and expand the Trade Adjustment Assistance program, but no date has yet been set. Baucus and others have said TAA must be done before the Colombia FTA can be taken up, but Republicans are pushing for the two issues to be addressed simultaneously.

Intellectual Property Rights
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved Sept. 11 legislation (S. 3325) that would enhance domestic enforcement of intellectual property rights. Similar legislation was passed by the House earlier this year. The Senate could take up the bill later this month, but it is unclear whether it would amend the bill to align it with the House version or whether a conference would be necessary to resolve differences between the two, in which case the likelihood of a final bill making it to the White House this year would be small.

Trade Remedies
There is speculation that a provision reinstating a World Trade Organization-compliant version of the Byrd Amendment could be inserted into a continuing resolution, a measure used to keep federal agencies running until the fiscal year 2009 appropriations bills can be passed. The Byrd Amendment required U.S. Customs and Border Protection to distribute antidumping and countervailing duty revenues to affected domestic producers but was struck down by the WTO and repealed several years ago.

Enforcement
No major congressional action on the enforcement of trade rules and agreements is expected this year. The issue is expected to be a top priority in 2009, however, and the baseline for discussions will likely be a bill (H.R. 6530) introduced July 17 by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., and Trade Subcommittee Chairman Sander Levin, D-Mich., that aims to combat counterfeiting and piracy, improve import safety, promote market access for U.S. goods and services and strengthen remedies against unfair trade.

Food Safety
Legislative efforts to improve the safety of the U.S. food supply, including imports, could be postponed until 2009. The most recent action in this area was the July 31 introduction in the Senate of a bill (S. 3385) that includes provisions on food facility and importer registration, foreign supplier safety verification, expedited treatment for qualified importers, foreign facility inspection, import certification, third-party auditors, administrative detention and mandatory recalls.