CONGRESS PLAYS CHICKEN OVER THE LAME DUCK: Lawmakers on the House and Senate committees in charge of trade are laying the groundwork for a grueling standoff during the upcoming lame-duck session, potentially thwarting any effort to revive trade programs that otherwise have support in both parties. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), the chairman of the Ways and Means trade subcommittee, is urging his colleagues to reject any lame-duck trade package that does not revive Trade Adjustment Assistance, a program that helps workers who lost their jobs over import competition. "A trade package that does not renew TAA is unacceptable," he told POLITICO. Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) echoed the sentiment, and said reauthorizing and modernizing Trade Adjustment Assistance, which expired in July, "is a top priority for me and many members of Congress." But the GOP is fighting back: Republican representatives are drawing their own lines in the sand over any lame-duck trade package and refuse to consider TAA revival unless it is reviewed alongside Trade Promotion Authority, which the GOP has signaled it will use to nudge the executive branch toward considering new free trade agreements. That is, frankly, a longshot. The standoff could torpedo the revival of any expired trade programs until after the end of the year, including the Generalized System Preferences and the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill. Industry groups and lawmakers from both parties want to see the tariff exception programs brought back. Dems setting the table: Blumenauer said his office already compiled a comprehensive trade bill that's ready for lame-duck negotiations. The package includes a seven-year renewal of the TAA, as well as Republican-opposed versions of the GSP and MTB that would tighten up labor, governance and other standards countries need to qualify for the tariff exception. Nebraska Rep. Adrian Smith , the top Republican on the Ways and Means trade subcommittee, told POLITICO that historically "we've reauthorized TAA in tandem with increased market access, specifically TPA, and that is not something we should deviate from." "Stand-alone TAA is not something I would support — nor do I think pairing it with only GSP and MTB is acceptable considering those reauthorizations are not at all contentious," he added. Clock is ticking: The Department of Labor recently announced the reassignment of 16 federal employees, signaling instability of the program's bureaucracy, according to persons familiar. TSMC SUSPENDS CHINESE CHIPS WORK: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. suspended operations with Biren Technologies in an effort to comply with the recent White House export controls. Biren's products outperform Nvidia Corp.'s A100 chips, technology banned under American sanctions. USTR DECLINES MEXICAN PRODUCE INVESTIGATION: U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai will assemble an industry advisory group to recommend actions that trade and agriculture officials can take to help farmers in the southeastern U.S. better compete with exports from countries like Mexico. Her decision comes after Florida lawmakers asked Tai to initiate a Section 301 investigation into fruit and vegetable imports from Mexico, arguing that growers in their state need relief from harms caused by an "export targeting" scheme. Tai declined to open such an investigation, which could lead to retaliatory measures like tariffs, after conducting a required 45-day review. But she acknowledged that producers in the region are struggling, especially in the wake of Hurricane Ian, and opted to form the advisory panel in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture. Lawmaker concerns: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Rep. Al Lawson (D-Fla.) led a bipartisan coalition of two-dozen Florida lawmakers who petitioned for the investigation in September. They called on USTR to "redress the untenable situation imposed by Mexico's practices and policies." Representatives for Rubio and Lawson did not respond to a request for comment on USTR's decision. XI PLEDGES MORE GLOBAL TRADE ENGAGEMENT: The world's second-largest economy will not close itself off to the rest of the globe and will instead pursue deeper economic ties with foreign countries, Chinese President Xi Jinping said over the weekend. His remarks came at the end of the Communist Party's National Congress, a weeklong gathering at which Xi secured an unprecedented third term as the country's leader. China aims to produce more of its own high-end technology and other critical products in order to insulate its economy from U.S. sanctions. But Xi also asserted that "China will open its door ever wider" and pursue strategic trade and investment initiatives. "Just as China cannot develop in isolation from the world, the world needs China for its development," Xi told media outlets, according to Bloomberg . HOUSE MEMBERS CRITICIZE JONES ACT WAIVER: Four bipartisan lawmakers form the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure sent a letter expressing their "concerns and disappointment" over the administration's decision to allow the delivery of fuel to Puerto Rico on foreign vessels in the wake of a hurricane that devastated the island. "We do not understand how the Department of Homeland Security … made a retroactive determination that no U.S.-flag vessels could have performed the move for which the waiver was granted," said the letter, which was signed by House Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.), Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio). Source of contention: The lawmakers said they agreed with an industry group that described the consideration of the waiver while the British Petroleum Products North America vessel was already underway as " novel and problematic ." The American Maritime Partnership, which represents domestic industry, claimed the decision would incentivize waiver-requests from international companies looking to exploit future humanitarian crises. Reminder: The White House granted a federal waiver of the Jones Act in September to allow a BP ship loaded with diesel fuel to access a port in Puerto Rico, where hundreds of thousands remain without power as a result of Hurricane Fiona. That was followed by a second "temporary and targeted" waiver for additional badly-needed natural gas shipments. ELON MUSK FACES POSSIBLE FEDERAL REVIEW: The Biden administration is considering whether to subject some of Elon Musk's business ventures to national security reviews following his comments about the Russia-initiated conflict in Ukraine, Bloomberg reports . The reviews under consideration would potentially include his planned acquisition of Twitter and his operation of Starlink, a satellite internet company. The talks are in an "early stage," according to the report. But it could be conducted through the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which can recommend that the president block a transaction.
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