Blumenauer Introduces Bill to Renew, Change Eligibility Standards for GSP, MTB

Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., introduced a bill designed to improve and modernize trade adjustment assistance programs, including "significantly higher funding levels and expanded eligibility," according to a summary provided by Blumenauer's office.

The American Worker and Trade Competitiveness Act reauthorizes the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program retroactively through 2026 and changes the program's eligibility criteria with environmental and labor requirements similar to those in the USMCA agreement. It would increase labor standards for eligible countries to meet and ensure that basic labor rights are respected, according to a summary. The bill includes human rights, rule of law, equal protection and anti-corruption requirements as in the AGOA agreement, and includes transparency and public access mandates.

The bill also would reduce duties on certain imports based on recommendations from the ITC in accordance with the American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act of 2016 (AMCA), reauthorizing the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill for two cycles and excluding finished products from future MTBs.

The bill is identical to a bill Blumenauer introduced in 2021. That bill passed the House with strong Democratic support in the last Congress but was not included in the Senate package. "Our hope is to give it another shot," a staff person familiar with the legislation said. The Senate is broadly supportive of the individual items, but the staffer said that there would be "definite roadblocks" at the Senate level and supporters are working to build a coalition in both chambers to move on a broader trade agreement that the bill is designed to anchor.

House Ways and Means ranking member Richard Neal, D-Mass., said in March that there could be movement on both the GSP benefits program and MTB, but likely only as a part of "a broader trade agreement" (see 2303240066). Chairman of the Trade Subcommittee, Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., previously said he wants GSP and MTB to move quickly and doesn't support waiting for a larger trade bill (see 2302070058).