In This Issue:

- Congressional Committees

.. Senate Finance Committee

.. House Ways and Means Committee

- Trade Policy Issues

.. Trade Promotion Authority

.. Free Trade Agreements

.. Miscellaneous Tariff Bill

.. Generalized System of Preferences Reauthorization

.. African Growth and Opportunity Act Reauthorization

.. Low-Value Duty Threshold

.. Trade Adjustment Assistance

.. Customs Reauthorization

- Excerpt from Senate Finance Committee:

Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) will continue to lead the Finance Committee next year but will trade roles next year with Hatch assuming the chairmanship and Wyden moving to Ranking Member. The International Trade Subcommittee will likely also see its current leaders, Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Ranking Member Johnny Isakson (R-GA), continue to lead but in reversed roles. The subcommittee is losing one member, Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), who did not seek reelection this year, and there is some question of whether Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) will be able to remain once the new Republican-Democratic membership ratios are established. There is speculation that Senators Dean Heller (R-NV) and Dan Coats (R-IN) are among the leading candidates for new Republican members of the committee.