Agricultural News
House Bill to Include More Trade Aid for Workers
Fri, 28 Jan 2022 14:59:23 CST
Earlier this week, House Democrats unveiled the America COMPETES Act of 2022, which includes the American Worker and Trade Competitiveness Act, a Ways and Means Committee title containing critical pro-worker provisions and addressing key problems with the United States-China trading relationship. Notably, the legislation includes long-overdue reauthorization and modernization of Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) programs, as well as extensions to and reforms of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) legislation.
"The Senate's legislation on this matter falters both technically and ideologically - it violates the Constitution, overlooks the challenges facing today's workers, and should be tougher on China," Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal said. "I cannot vote in favor of a bill that ignores the prerogatives of the House, specifically that revenue measures must originate in this chamber. The America COMPETES Act not only corrects that fundamental flaw, it also ensures American workers, manufacturers, and farmers have all the tools they need to succeed in the world economy. This legislation is the boldest, best option we have to stand up to China's harmful actions and support American workers, and I look forward to discussing these proposals further during our conference on the package with the Senate."
The Ways and Means provisions:
· Reauthorize and modernize TAA programs
· Extend and reform the GSP and MTB legislation
· Strengthen U.S. international trade laws to stop unfairly-traded goods from exploiting the de minimis import threshold
· Empower the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to take strategic steps to improve supply chain resiliency
· Strengthen U.S. anti-dumping and countervailing duty laws to protect American workers and combat China's unfair, anti-free market trade practices that distort the global market
· Reaffirm the U.S. government's commitment to the World Trade Organization (WTO)
· Allow U.S. Customs and Border Protection to update its staffing model to better respond to the challenges of the modern trading system.
A one pager on the Ways and Means provisions is available here.
Full text of the legislation can be found here.
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