[CTC] Pelosi outlines China bill strategy

[Arthur Stamoulis]

Politico Morning Trade

— House Speaker Nancy Pelosi <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=18c199caddf6cb9d20180f0bfe0886db9fe0ab8482a484053087f0169895a3a7818b90c90ed8c6db99977640f1c3f99f>’s office outlined her strategy for the chamber’s anti-China bill, telling industry officials she would not adopt the Senate’s package unchanged, but will craft a House version to be reconciled in a conference committee.

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PELOSI OUTLINES CHINA BILL STRATEGY: Pelosi will not bring the Senate’s broad bill to confront China — the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (S. 1260 <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=18c199caddf6cb9dd14b7dd4ebb005c8e3b53788b042c9917811462ee4d26ff5b4833b24d11dc66ac8da65c8ec312b7f>) — to the floor of the House, a staffer told industry representatives on a Thursday call.

House package coming: Instead, Pelosi will combine various House bills aimed at boosting the U.S. against China into its own broad package and then hope to reconcile the differences with the Senate version in a conference committee.

“There will be changes to the Senate bill, and some form of process to reconcile the differences between the chambers,” a spokesperson for the speaker confirmed Thursday.

EAGLE Act will anchor: The House package is likely to be anchored by the Ensuring American Global Leadership and Engagement Act (H.3524 <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=18c199caddf6cb9ddf69272edeeb73075094c5cb813018e7e8e3c18cebce165600ec8572bdd3d799fd636ae9e7ea8738>), a broad bill that aims to economically confront China. That bill was advanced by the House Foreign Affairs Committee this month by a party line 25-22 vote.

That will be combined with other measures like the five bills <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=18c199caddf6cb9dff7841a06b76520eb67e7d316fa2d5f4290c512634a1a917f9d94b2f30127d55a9b4813a8b37d758> that passed out of the House Science Committee last week, including the NIST for the Future Act ( H. 4609 <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=18c199caddf6cb9dd007353bf9afaa9019abc05e916ec682259931b7a5b1f6823457f96c4e47e43f6a44f738cdd3973a>), which would reauthorize the National Institute of Standards and Technology with enhanced funding and programs.

But the trade provisions are in flux. The sides have yet to reconcile the differences between House and Senate versions of reauthorization bills for the Generalized System of Preferences and Miscellaneous Tariff Bill, which expired at the start of the month.

A bigger sticking point is the debate over Trade Adjustment Assistance and Trade Promotion Authority. The Biden administration has only called for TAA reauthorization, so Pelosi wants to leave TPA out and is “not interested in negotiating” on that subject, said a source with knowledge of the conversation.

The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act is also on the table.Sponsors of the House bill were initially opposed to altering their version, which passed 406-3 last year, but their position has softened in recent weeks of negotiations <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=18c199caddf6cb9d7e59691979ba87e06f160b3ca9ba04d074456496521e2f15a1406c7e6ec2c99c2fcdf26a9ea24019>. Now, Pelosi may also be open to some of the changes inserted by Sen. Marco Rubio <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=18c199caddf6cb9d05c120083074fd0ab80b93aa7127c91927410e6466e1f2f1fde4523f1aece7588a91b2f3fce571b7> (R-Fla.) to win support from U.S. corporations, like a longer implementation timeline and new guidelines for Customs and Border Protection when issuing trade rules.

“The speaker is desirous of enacting a bill and may be open to the changes suggested by the Senate’s text, but the information [in the call] was not indicating movement one way or the other,” the spokesperson said. 

Narrow trade deals not ideal: Pelosi’s office also told industry representatives the speaker is cool toward the prospect of negotiating narrow issue-specific trade deals, like the one the Biden administration is pursuing on digital commerce with Asian allies <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=18c199caddf6cb9df5594e8559c6b2567e3d9a86683fba489abf21b25589f4077d1e0aacdbc6eb394f16c344af9ac000>.

“We need consultations with Congress and buy-in from various stakeholders to create coalitions for trade deals and that often requires other parts of deals to be included, but [the comment] was not phrased as being against a narrow package,” Pelosi’s spokesperson said, adding the comment was “merely explaining how to get various size packages through the House.”

Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826




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