The United States Innovation and Competition Act (USICA): A Primer
Tom Lee, Juan Londoño
Executive Summary
The United States Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) is a $200 billion proposal aimed at countering China’s influence domestically and abroad.
USICA has gained bipartisan support and has been labeled as “must-pass” legislation, but the negotiation process has resulted in the inclusion of amendments and provisions that deviate from the bill’s original goal.
The bill proposes an expanded role for the federal government in “strategic sectors” – including semiconductors, drones, wireless broadband, and artificial intelligence – with increased funding, supervision, and regulation of various industries.
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POLITICO
“This legislation is an economic win-win,” Wyden said.
Sen. Ron Wyden is still expected to release legislation in the near future that aims to make U.S. trade policy more competitive with China. | Susan Walsh-Pool/Getty Images
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Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) released legislation on Tuesday that would revive a series of lapsed tariff-reduction programs designed to promote trade with developing countries and make certain imports less expensive for U.S. firms.
What the bill would do: The Trade Preferences and American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act would reinstitute the Generalized System of Preferences until 2027. The program has been used since 1974 to eliminate tariffs on goods imported from countries in need of an economic boost, but it expired in December amid partisan disagreements over provisions related to human rights and the environment.
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Highlights
After months of negotiations, Congress passed an omnibus legislative package on Dec. 22, 2020, that funds the government through September 2021 and includes a package of hard-fought COVID-19 relief measures.
Included in the package was a bundle of technical corrections to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) implementing bill, which provides statutory authority for the trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada that succeeded the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Lawmakers were unable to reach a deal on a new Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) or the renewal of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, which is set to expire on Dec. 31, 2020.