Trade Enforcement – Passage

Adoption of a conference report to accompany the Trade Facilitation and Enforcement Act (HR 644) that would formally establish the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and authorize the CBP to use an automated import-export processing system. Further, the bill would strengthen enforcement of intellectual property rights and U.S. trade agreements by establishing the Trade Enforcement Trust Fund and the National Intellectual Property Rights within the Treasury Department and U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), respectively. The bill would permanently ban state and local taxation of Internet access and ends grandfathered Internet access taxation in seven states. The bill would also amend the Trade Promotion Authority to add more negotiating objectives for future trade agreements, specifically that future trade agreements not require changes to U.S. immigration law or climate change obligations.