Neal Says He and Blumenauer Are 'Focusing' Legislation on GSP and MTB
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., said that he and Trade Subcommittee Chairman Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., talked Jan. 12 about how to move on a renewal for the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program and the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill. Neal, who spoke with International Trade Today in a hallway interview at the Capitol Jan. 13, said that he talked with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai about the legislation this week, as well. Both the GSP and MTB lapsed more than a year ago.
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"So, we're in the focusing stage," he said. Blumenauer's version of the renewals, introduced last year (see 2106170040), is distinctly different from the version that passed the Senate last year with 91 votes. For instance, Blumenauer's bill would require that the next cycle of the MTB not include any finished goods, only manufacturing inputs. Also, the Trade Act renews the GSP through 2027, while Blumenauer's version renews it through 2024.
When asked if by focusing, he meant that Blumenauer's text would change to be closer to the Senate Trade Act of 2021, Neal responded, "We are mindful of the House having separate responsibilities. And we intend to adhere to those."
Whatever version of the bill advances through Neal's committee, it must be reconciled with the Senate through a conference committee planned to hammer out a China package (see 2112010044). If the negotiators do not reach agreement, it's possible neither renewal would happen as part of that process. Neal said he has no estimate on when the committee might mark up a bill on the GSP and the MTB.