Schumer Lifts Hold on Commerce Department Nominee Following Section 232 Recommendations
The nominee for the Commerce Department's undersecretary for international trade may be able to get a vote on his confirmation before his wait reaches the 10-month mark. Gil Kaplan was nominated May 25, and the Senate Finance Committee unanimously approved him Sept. 7, but a hold from Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., prevented his name from going to a full Senate floor vote (see 1710270015).
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After the Commerce Department recommended a menu of tariffs or quotas on imported steel and aluminum (see 1802160020) in reports released Feb. 16, Schumer released the hold. In a statement, Schumer said, "We’ve been asking over a year for the Trump administration to crack down on China’s predatory practices on aluminum and steel," and said he hopes the administration will "finally get tough on China."
Schumer will continue to prevent a vote on another Commerce nominee. "We put a hold on two Commerce Department nominees until the administration acted," he said. "As a show of good faith, we are releases our hold on Gil Kaplan for Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, but will continue to hold Nazakhtar Nikakhtar for Assistant Secretary of Commerce, Industry and Analysis and any other Commerce nominees until the president fully approves these bold actions.”
The Committee to Support U.S. Trade Laws, which lobbies to preserve laws that tackle unfair trade, asked Schumer to release his hold on Nikakhtar, and urged Senate leaders to schedule a vote on Kaplan's nomination soon. The organization said of Nikakhtar, "Her research and analysis has helped many American producers push back against unfair trade practices and reclaim lost ground in the global marketplace. She has regularly demonstrated the kind of commitment to American companies and workers that we all hope to find in the leadership of the Commerce Department."