Legislative Update: MTB Process Advances, Preference Program Extension Still Possible
November 2, 2009
World Trade/INTERACTIVE
The process of developing a miscellaneous trade bill in the Senate is well underway, and a final measure could pass by the end of the year. Lawmakers are also working to extend expiring trade preference programs, but that effort, like many others, continues to take a back seat to health care reform.
MTB. Hundreds of individual duty suspension and reduction bills were introduced in the Senate prior to the Oct. 30 deadline for submitting legislation to be included in a miscellaneous trade bill (click here for a full list). Lawmakers are still working to complete an MTB by the end of this year, when duty suspensions and reductions already in effect under the previous MTB expire.
Customs Reauthorization. The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing Oct. 20 on a customs reauthorization bill introduced Aug. 6. Trade community representatives testifying at this hearing were generally supportive of the bill but raised concerns about various provisions, including intellectual property rights, the use of advance commercial information for enforcement purposes and organization within U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Work on this bill is likely to carry over into 2010.
Trade Preferences. Press sources indicate that lawmakers are not expected to begin for several more weeks serious discussions on possible extensions of the Generalized System of Preferences and the Andean Trade Preference Act, both of which are slated to expire Dec. 31. Business and trade associations are pushing for action sooner than later, although some are calling for only a six-month extension while others are seeking at least two years. Key lawmakers remain interested in overhauling these and other U.S. trade preference programs, but no major reforms are anticipated this year.
Homeland Security Appropriations. President Obama recently signed into law a conference report on fiscal year 2010 appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security that includes provisions on intellectual property rights, cargo screening, textile transshipment, and antidumping and countervailing duty enforcement.
Other. Other trade-related bills that have been introduced recently include the following. (Note that the text of these bills can be found on the Library of Congress’ Web site.
• H.R. 3946 – To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to prohibit the sale of dishwashing detergent in the U.S. if the detergent contains a high level of phosphorus
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