Ways and Means Leadership Largely Comfortable With Wyden GSP Bill

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., said he's "conceptionally comfortable" with changes to the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program proposed by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore. (see 2105180075), and that "once the staff gives us a green light on it, we'll try to get it done." Neal, who spoke with an International Trade Today reporter in a brief interview at the Capitol May 19, said the renewal of GSP and the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill may be able to move expeditiously. He said he and Wyden are closely aligned on their views on trade.

The top Republican on the Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Kevin Brady, of Texas, said he's comfortable with the mandatory eligibility changes in Wyden's bill, since they reflect the same standards in the African Growth and Opportunity Act and USMCA. "We're still looking at the whole bill, but the foundation of it I think looks very positive," he said in a brief interview. Brady said he hopes the GSP and MTB renewals can get unanimous consent in the Senate, and even if the Senate passes the bill first, the House can pass its version in such a way that fulfills the requirement that revenue bills start in the House. "I think that's helped reinvigorate the momentum," Brady said of Wyden's May 18 announcement (see 2105180075) about the renewals. "Delays hurt our American businesses, as well as our trading partners, and the sooner we can get this moving, the better."

Brady said he's pleased that the GSP renewal would be for more than five years, through Jan. 1, 2027, because in his view, the certainty that provides "actually makes the program work better."