[CTC] Biden backs trade assistance reauthorization, ducks tariff bill dispute

[Arthur Stamoulis]

PoliticoPro
 
Biden backs trade assistance reauthorization, ducks tariff bill dispute
By Gavin Bade 
6/17/2021
 
The White House is throwing its weight behind a push by House Democrats to reauthorize Trade Adjustment Assistance — a program to help victims of offshoring — before it partially expires at the end of the month.

One of two new bills: TAA reauthorization, <https://waysandmeans.house.gov/sites/democrats.waysandmeans.house.gov/files/documents/TAA2_xml.pdf> H.R. 3974 (117) <https://legislation.politicopro.com/bill/US_117_HR_3974>, was introduced Thursday by Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee, alongside H.R. 3975 (117) <https://legislation.politicopro.com/bill/US_117_HR_3975>, which seeks to renew the Generalized System of Preferences and Miscellaneous Tariff Bill, two expired tariff exemption programs.

Urgency urged: TAA’s current funding levels will drop at the end of June, before fully expiring next year. Though the White House is still reviewing the House bill, President Joe Biden “strongly supports” the efforts to renew the program, said a senior administration official.

“Action is urgently needed to reduce disruption for currently eligible workers and to strengthen the program for the long term,” the official said.

TAA details: The House bill would reauthorize the TAA program for seven years, expand eligibility and increase financial assistance to workers. For instance, workers could receive a $2,000 allowance for job search and relocation activities under the new bill, up from $1,250 today, according to a Ways and Means fact sheet <https://waysandmeans.house.gov/sites/democrats.waysandmeans.house.gov/files/documents/TAA%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf>.

No Republicans signed on to support the bills at their introduction, and some are likely to raise objections to the expanded provisions in TAA. The White House is not yet commenting on specific provisions, but the administration official said Biden will work to “identify mutually agreeable reforms” to support transitioning workers.

Biden ducks tariff bill dispute: The White House also did not weigh in on a brewing dispute between the House and Senate over their competing reauthorization bills for GSP and MTB.

GSP exempts certain developing countries from tariffs while MTB waives duties on raw materials and intermediate goods. Both expired at the end of last year.

The Senate passed a compromise from Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden <https://cd.politicopro.com/member/51247> (D-Ore.) and Ranking Member Mike Crapo <https://cd.politicopro.com/member/51173> (R-Idaho) to renew the programs as part of the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, S. 1260 (117) <https://legislation.politicopro.com/bill/US_117_S_1260>, which passed the Senate in a 68-32 vote this month <https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2021/06/senate-china-bill-heads-for-next-steep-climb-in-house-2060636>.

But House lawmakers are still pushing forward with their own versions <https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2021/06/house-democrats-poised-to-unveil-trade-bill-reauthorizations-to-counter-senate-compromise-2062283>, quibbling with some of the GSP criteria in the Senate bill and saying they were not sufficiently consulted on MTB. The Senate rejects those claims <https://subscriber.politicopro.com/newsletter/2021/06/senate-pushes-back-on-house-trade-bills-795985>, saying House members were not ready with some of their objections when the fast-moving bill hit the floor.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai has previously committed to working with lawmakers to renew the programs, but the White House did not respond to a request to elaborate on that position or say whether it prefers the House or Senate version.

Wyden backs TAA push: Despite the simmering dispute over the tariff bills, Wyden’s office said he would support the House effort to renew TAA.

“Senator Wyden led the reauthorization of TAA in 2015 and is committed to ensuring the program is robust, effective, and reauthorized as soon as possible," a spokesperson said. "He and Senate Finance Democrats have been engaged with the Ways and Means Committee for months on strategies to renew TAA, and he stands ready to work with the House to make sure workers get the benefits they need.”


Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826




-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.citizenstrade.org/pipermail/ctcfield-citizenstrade.org/attachments/20210622/411d9458/attachment-0001.html>