Portman, Coons Lay Out 'Grand Bargain' on Trade
Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Chris Coons, D-Del, laid out parameters of a trade package they hope to get passed in the next three weeks in Congress.
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That "grand bargain," as the retiring Ohio Republican has called it, would combine a renewal of Trade Adjustment Assistance; a limited Trade Promotional Authority that would authorize a deal with Taiwan, the U.K., Kenya and Ecuador; a renewal of the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program; and a new Miscellanous Tariff Bill.
"There are reasons to be optimistic that a bipartisan agreement is possible before year’s end. Plenty of trade legislation has passed either the House or Senate this Congress, creating a universe of priorities to draw upon. And it is possible that critical programs that have expired will languish for many years if a consensus is not reached now," they wrote in an op-ed piece in The Hill published Dec. 2.
They also said the package should include authorization to negotiate sector-specific plurilateral deals at the World Trade Organization and "should strengthen our antidumping and countervailing duty laws to challenge China’s unfair trade practices and protect American jobs."
The last plank is a reference to Portman's Level the Playing Field Act 2.0, which was included in the House trade title attached to the Chips Act, but drew vehement opposition from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and others.
While Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., has said he wants a renewal of GSP and MTB done this year, he said Portman's grand bargain sounded a little ambitious for the lame duck (see 2211150025).