HOLD ON BUSH ITC APPOINTEE REMAINS, BUT NEW NOMINEE IMPRESSES

_______________________________________
Date: July 12, 2002

  
Farm state senators are continuing to block confirmation of a Bush appointee to the International Trade Commission despite the White House's announcement last week of a second nominee to the ITC who has a background in agriculture. Specifically, Sen. Bob Graham (D-FL) has not lifted a hold placed on ITC nominee Charlotte Lane.

Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Charles Grassley (R-IA), who supports Graham but does not have a formal hold on Lane, sees it as “more expedient” to move Lane's nomination in tandem with the nomination of Daniel Pearson, a policy analyst with Cargill who Bush nominated last week to a nine-year term on the ITC. “We want to make sure the ag nominee gets through,” a committee source said.

Graham also wants more information about Bush's nominee before lifting his hold, but is not formally linking the Lane and Pearson appointments by requiring that they move in tandem, according to a Graham source.

This source said Pearson's nomination is encouraging, but noted that the Administration's announcement on Pearson was only a paragraph long. Graham wants to have a courtesy visit with Pearson and learn more about him before proceeding with Lane's nomination, the Graham source said.

Grassley was also encouraged by the July 2 announcement on Pearson, who “seems on the surface to be just the kind of person we wanted,” according to a committee source. But Grassley, who has backed Graham's delay to her nomination, has submitted questions to Lane and wants to review her responses before proceeding, a committee source said.

Graham submitted questions to Lane about whether she would consider “seasonality” in prices of fruits and vegetables as an ITC member.

Given Lane's background in public utilities, where electricity is priced differently based on the season, Graham asked if she would consider factoring in seasonal prices for fruits and vegetables. Lane said in her response that assuming nothing in the statute prohibited this, she didn't see why seasonality couldn't be considered, according to a Graham source.

The response was “reasonably satisfactory” to Graham, the source said.

The question was prompted by U.S. winter tomato growers in Florida, who have complained of injury from Mexican tomato growers. They have pushed for vegetables grown in the winter to be considered as a separate industry, which would make it easier for them to show injury and gain relief through a tariff on imports in a 201 decision.

Told about Lane's response, a tomato industry source said it is pleasing to see that Lane thinks seasonality should be considered. However, the source said Lane may have “hedged her bets” with her statement, and added that there is no indication that anyone else on the ITC would change their votes. In July 1996, the ITC voted 4-1 that imports from Mexico are not a substantial cause of serious injury or a threat to U.S. tomato and bell pepper industries (Inside U.S. Trade, July 5, 1996).

Grassley and Graham opposed proceeding with Lane's nomination at a Finance Committee hearing two weeks ago because they wanted Bush to appoint someone with expertise in agriculture to the ITC (Inside U.S. Trade, June 28, p. 28). Lane, who most recently served as Chairman of the West Virginia Public Service Commission, was nominated to fill a vacancy left by Dennis Devaney, whose term expired at the end of last year when Congress ended its session.

Pearson is assistant vice president for public affairs for Cargill, and previously served as agriculture legislative assistant to for U.S. Sen. Rudy Boschwitz (R-MN).