The House of Representatives recently approved the America COMPETES Act (H.R. 4521), which includes a wide range of trade-related provisions that could have a significant impact on the trade community. ST&R has already reported on many of these provisions but is now providing a more comprehensive review of how the bill would impact imports, exports, and other aspects of trade. Some of these provisions could be revised, or they could all be removed entirely, in a forthcoming House-Senate conference.
For more information on this bill and its potential impacts, please contact Nicole Bivens Collinson at (202) 730-4956 or via email.
Trade
- reauthorizes and updates eligibility criteria for the Generalized System of Preferences
- reauthorizes the miscellaneous trade bill for two more cycles and excludes finished products from future MTBs
- prohibits goods from countries that are both non-market economies and on USTR’s priority watch list for IPR issues from benefitting from de minimis tariff and entry treatment
- requires U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect more information on de minimis shipments and prohibit importers that have been suspended or debarred from being able to use de minimis
- makes it easier to bring new AD/CV duty cases when production moves to other countries and outlines expedited timelines for such cases
- authorizes the application of CV duty law to subsidies provided by a government to a company operating in a different country
- imposes statutory requirements for inquiries of AD/CV duty order circumvention to clarify the process and timeline
- amends the Lacey Act to allow for up to a three-year emergency ban on the importation of wildlife that poses imminent threats to human health
- modernizes Trade Adjustment Assistance programs to ensure benefits reach the most severely affected communities
Supply Chains
- establishes a new office within the Department of Commerce focused on strengthening supply chains for critical goods, including by (1) reducing reliance on critical goods from countries of concern and encouraging the relocation of manufacturing facilities out of these countries and (2) helping domestic manufacturers and entities purchasing or using critical goods to manage supply chain risks and value supply chain resilience
- authorizes $45 billion to support supply chain resilience and the manufacturing of critical goods, industrial equipment, and manufacturing technology in the U.S., including by relocating manufacturing facilities from countries that pose a significant economic or national security threat
- authorizes $3 billion to fund the establishment of a domestic solar manufacturing supply chain to reduce reliance on China
- establishes a $1.5 billion pilot to enhance medical supply chain elasticity and maintain domestic reserves of critical medical supplies
- requires a 30-day time-limited study on the major current chokepoints in U.S. supply chains
- authorizes an expansion of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program, including to address the resilience of domestic supply chains
Shipping
- inserts the Ocean Shipping Reform Act already passed by the House
- prohibits Chinese, Russian, North Korean, or Iranian state-owned enterprises from having ownership of a company that has a contract for the operation or management of a U.S. port
- requires a report on Chinese Communist Party investments in port infrastructure since Jan. 1, 2012, including an assessment of China’s current and potential future ability to leverage commercial ports for military purposes and the implications for U.S. national and economic security
Forced Labor
- prioritizes audits of imports from countries identified by other federal agencies as having human trafficking, forced labor, and child labor in any part of the seafood supply chain
- requires the current seafood import monitoring program to be expanded to all types of seafood
- requires every entry of seafood to provide a complete documentation trail to the original source 72 hours before importation
China
- authorizes $90 million over six years for a program that allows for U.S. embassies to hire contacts to assist interested U.S. persons and businesses with supply chain management issues related to China
- requires periodic interagency review of export control lists to ensure items are included that would provide China with a critical capability for surveillance or repression
- requires a report on the involvement of China, state-sponsored companies, and companies incorporated in China in the ownership, operation, or other involvement in mining or processing facilities in countries from which the U.S. imports minerals, metals, and materials
- authorizes the hiring of 10 additional staff for the Office of Foreign Assets Control to carry out activities associated with China
Foreign Investment
- establishes a whole-of-government screening process for outbound investments and the offshoring of critical capacities and supply chains to ensure the U.S. can quickly detect supply chain vulnerabilities
Semiconductors
- provides substantial financial assistance to incentivize investment in facilities and equipment for semiconductor fabrication, assembly, testing, advanced packaging, and research and development in the U.S.
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