Congressional efforts to reform the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a U.S. Government interagency committee that conducts national security reviews, continue apace. This week saw the introduction of bipartisan legislation in the U.S. Senate that would (i) give federal agriculture and food officials permanent representation on CFIUS and (ii) amend the statute to allow the Committee to consider agriculture and food-related criteria when reviewing transactions that could result in control of a U.S.…

Lawmakers in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate are examining ways to restrict Chinese investment in the United States by reforming national security reviews conducted by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a U.S. Government interagency committee. The prospects for statutory changes to CFIUS reviews appear greater now than at any time since the underlying statute was overhauled nearly a decade ago.…

Capping two weeks of debate, the Senate voted 62-37 just before Memorial Day recess to restore trade promotion authority, sending the bill to the House of Representatives. Read More: Trade Promotion Authority Debate Heads to House …

The WTO Appellate Body on May 18, 2015, publicly released a report upholding earlier findings that the United States has violated WTO rules in applying country of origin labeling (COOL) to beef, pork, and other meat products. This latest ruling may result in repeal of the U.S. COOL requirements. Read More: U.S. Loses Appeal of WTO Ruling on COOL, Raising Risk of Retaliation Unless COOL Is Repealed…

After months of behind-the-scenes negotiations, on April 16, 2015, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) introduced legislation, S. 995 and H.R. 1890, to restore trade promotion authority (TPA). The TPA bill provides the administration with negotiating objectives for future trade agreements and allows it to submit implementing legislation for the final agreement to Congress for an up-or-down…

In a recently issued decision, a World Trade Organization (WTO) compliance Panel (Panel) ruled in favor of Canada and Mexico in a dispute over the United States’ country of origin labeling (COOL) requirements as they apply to cattle and hog muscle cuts. Although it found that the United States has a right to require country of origin labels for meat products, the Panel concluded that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) revised COOL regulations failed…