On The Hill

Supreme Court Vacancy

On Friday (Sep. 18), Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away at the age of 87. Ginsburg was nominated to the bench in 1993 and went on to be known as a champion of gender equality, civil liberties, and pay equity.

Her death sets up a battle over the future of the Supreme Court. President Trump plans to announce a nominee to fill Ginsburg’s seat on Saturday (Sep. 26). On Friday (Sep. 25), Republican sources said President Trump intends to select Amy Coney Barrett, a 48-year-old judge on Chicago’s 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced he will hold a vote for the nominee and appears to have the votes needed for a confirmation to go through. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME) are the only GOP senators to oppose immediately filling Ginsburg’s seat.

The court will hold its post-summer break conference on Sep. 29, 2020, raising the prospect of tied 4-4 rulings. In situations where the court is deadlocked, the rulings of lower appeals courts would stand.

 

Biden

A top trade adviser to Democratic nominee for President Joe Biden said on Tuesday (Sep. 22) that the candidate is not ruling out new tariffs on imports.

Tony Blinken, former Deputy Secretary of State in the Obama administration, said while Biden was looking to reconcile with allies burned by Trump’s trade wars, new tariffs are still on the table.

“We would use tariffs when they’re needed, but backed by a strategy and a plan,” Blinken said.

Additionally, Blinken reiterated the campaign’s position that any new trade deals would come after major domestic infrastructure investments.^[1] 

 

Medical Supply Chain

Canada’s Minister for Economic and Trade Policy Nadia Bourély said on Wednesday (Sep. 23) that President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) to boost U.S. production of drugs and medical supplies could harm cross-border supply chains that have helped both the U.S. and Canada fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

“These policies also put at risk U.S. and Canadian jobs, distort investment and result in higher prices for businesses and consumers,” Bourély said. “To facilitate our pandemic responses and ensure mutually beneficial economic growth, Canada is of the view that — as it relates to the U.S. and Canada — we should minimize the impact of any local content requirements on North American value chains,” she added.

Trump’s August 6, 2020, EO directs federal agencies to boost domestic production by limiting competition for federal contracts as much as possible, “to only those essential medicines, medical countermeasures and critical inputs that are produced in the United States.”

An earlier International Trade Commission study found that Canada was a top-five supplier of more than one-third of the 203 medical items and goods needed to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.^[2] 

 

China

TikTok

On Saturday (Sep. 19), President Trump approved a deal that will allow TikTok to continue operating in the U.S. The deal will make ORACLE a minority shareholder in TikTok and give it control over the company’s U.S. data. ByteDance will continue to own about 80 percent of the company.

However, on Monday (Sep. 21), Trump said he would not support a deal unless Walmart and ORACLE own a controlling stake in TikTok. This appeared to reject the terms of the Saturday (Sep. 19) agreement he said had his approval. 

ORACLE and ByteDance put out contradictory statements about whether ByteDance will have an ownership stake. Trump said the deal means Walmart and ORACLE are purchasing TikTok outright, but the two companies said they will just own 12.5 percent and 7.5 percent respectively.^[3] 

The dynamic has caused confusion, and it is unclear what the final details around the deal will be.

United Nations

In his Tuesday (Sep. 22) address to the United Nations General Assembly, President Trump said China must be held accountable for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, Trump criticized China’s environmental policies and accused the country of producing unacceptable levels of pollution, overfishing in foreign waters, and dumping trash into the oceans. 

In his own address to the assembly, President Xi Jinping defended his government’s pandemic response and insisted China was “contributing its share to upholding global public health security.”^[4] 

House Bill

The House voted on Tuesday (Sep. 22) in favor of legislation that would ensure clothing and other products made with forced labor of Uighur Muslims and other ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region of China do not enter the U.S.

If approved by the Senate and signed into law by President Trump, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, H.R. 6210 would require companies to prove to U.S. Customs and Border Protection that any products sourced from Xinjiang are not made with forced labor. This could potentially disrupt tens of billions of dollars of U.S.-China Trade.

The bill will likely further increase tensions with China.^[5] 

Carbon Emissions Pledge

On Tuesday (Sep. 22), President Xi Jinping pledged that China would reach its peak emissions ahead of its 2030 goal and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. This is the most ambitious goal yet for the country.

 

References

^[1] Bade, Gavin. “Biden won’t rule out new tariffs, adviser says.” Politico Pro, 22 Sep. 2020. https://link.edgepilot.com/s/cbfa3fc3/pqLJsF5-H0KMC_PEJ-dWUQ?u=https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2020/09/biden-wont-rule-out-new-tariffs-trade-adviser-says-1998637

^[2] Palmer, Doug. “Canada seeks to reprieve from Trump’s medical supply executive order.” Politico Pro, 23 Sep. 2020. https://link.edgepilot.com/s/f5604a8e/Ah3wPpKLPEqugfX8iiOqzw?u=https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2020/09/canada-seeks-reprieve-from-trumps-medical-supply-executive-order-1999334

^[3] Overly, Steven. “Trump wavers on TikTok deal as companies push conflicting messages.” Politico Pro, 21 Sep. 2020. https://link.edgepilot.com/s/ddd61e77/P-AxoQEhv0K3QEuAj7fXSg?u=https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2020/09/tiktok-saga-continues-as-trump-wavers-on-deal-3984039

^[4] Forgey, Quint. “Trump: U.N. ‘must hold China accountable’ for pandemic.” Politico Pro, 22 Sep. 2020. https://link.edgepilot.com/s/588c652c/9qW_GAPA70ivgGD6Rt98kw?u=https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2020/09/trump-un-must-hold-china-accountable-for-pandemic-1998651

^[5] Palmer, Doug. “House passes bill to stop forced labor imports from China.” Politico Pro, 22 Sep. 2020. https://link.edgepilot.com/s/440d201a/mDmNJyddVkmQomJs1CNMJg?u=https:/subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2020/09/houses-passes-bill-to-stop-forced-labor-imports-from-china-1998744