Senator Vance Announced as Republican Vice Presidential Nominee

Earlier this month, former President Trump named Ohio Senator JD Vance as his running mate in this year’s presidential election. The announcement kicked off the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, during which Trump formally accepted the party’s presidential nomination.

While only two years into his first term, Senator Vance has already developed a strong track record on trade policy and has supported a number of efforts in line with AWPA’s policy priorities. For example, he is a co-sponsor of bipartisan trade enforcement bills supported by the Association, including the Leveling the Playing Field 2.0 Act and the Fighting Trade Cheats Act. He is also a cosponsor of AWPA-endorsed legislation to help companies receive refunds for Section 232 duties paid on certain steel products that were subsequently granted product exclusions by the Commerce Department. Vance has also joined bipartisan colleagues in urging the Biden Administration to address the surge in certain steel imports from Mexico.

More broadly, Senator Vance is increasingly viewed as a leading voice on trade and manufacturing policy, particularly as it relates to combatting China’s unfair trade practices. Notably, he is a lead sponsor of legislation to strip the People’s Republic of China (PRC) of its Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status. Vance has also weighed in against the Government of Vietnam’s request for market economy status, in part due to Vietnam’s trade and economic ties to the PRC.

With Vice President Kamala Harris now at the top of the Democratic ticket and expected to name her running mate in the coming days, we will plan to provide an update on her vice presidential pick’s trade positions in our next issue of The Wire.

Notably, AWPA members met with Carolina Young – then Senator Brown’s (D-OH) trade staffer and now Chief Economic Advisor to Vice President Harris – as well as with Senator Vance’s trade staff during the 2023 Government Affairs Conference in Washington.

House Speaker Johnson Announces Intent to Move China Package

In a policy speech delivered earlier this month, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) announced his intent to move “a significant package of China-related legislation” by the end of the year. He highlighted a number of potential priorities for the package, including restrictions on outbound investment to China and the elimination of so-called de minimis privileges– which waive tariffs on low-value shipments into the United States – for those products covered by the Section 301 China tariffs. Speaker Johnson also highlighted the BIOSECURE Act, which targets Chinese biotech companies, and noted the need for additional investments in the U.S. maritime sector. While the Speaker did not highlight the Leveling the Playing Field 2.0 Actor the Fighting Trade Cheats Act, we anticipate that Congressional champions of these and other trade enforcement measures will push for their inclusion in any China trade package.