A draft letter expected to be finalized this week indicates that the House Ways and Means Committee and its Trade Subcommittee anticipate handling a wide range of international trade issues in the 113th Congress. The letter indicates that hearings and other oversight-related activities are planned on a number of topics but that priorities may change over time.
Among the topics mentioned in the letter, among others, are:
- Trade Promotion Authority
- Systemic Problems in U.S. -China Trade Relation
- Trans-Pacific Partnership Negotiations
- Prospects for Additional Trade Negotiations, including a U.S.-EU Free Trade Agreement
- U.S. Goals at the World Trade Organization, including dispute settlement, prospect for a trade facilitation agreement, and WTO accessions
- Enforcement of U.S. rights under trade agreements, including the WTO agreements and bilateral and regional FTAs
- Role of trade in creating U.S. jobs, and how to create new market access for U.S. agriculture, manufactured goods, and services
- Office of the U.S. Trade Representative priorities for the 113th Congress
- International Trade Commission priorities