June 16, 2007
Rockefeller Fights to Protect WV Worker Interests from Unfair Trade Practices; Calls for Enforcement of Trade Agreements
By HNN Staff
from Jay Rockefeller press release
Washington, DC (HNN) – Senator Jay Rockefeller, D-WV, is calling on the Bush Administration to enforce U.S. trade agreements abroad and trade remedy laws at home. This week’s Senate Finance Committee Hearing addressed a number of the provisions in the Strengthening America’s Trade Laws Act, which Rockefeller introduced earlier this year.
The hearing included a panel of witnesses who discussed the effectiveness of the current U.S. trade enforcement tools, whether and how those tools could be improved, and the Administration’s trade enforcement record.
Of the witnesses, international trade attorney and former Deputy United States Trade Ambassador Robert Lighthizer spoke on behalf of the steel industry and said that American workers and companies must have “an equitable chance to compete in their own market.”
“Our international trade laws are set up to establish a level playing field for West Virginians whose jobs and livelihoods are threatened by unfair foreign trade practices,” said Rockefeller. “When we enter into a deal with trading partners, we need to enforce the terms of that deal.”
At the hearing, Rockefeller also stressed the importance of the Administration’s enforcement of America’s domestic trade laws as well. For example, Rockefeller noted that the U.S. and other members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) brought China into the global trading system under specific terms and obligations that all parties involved were subject to. However, as American businesses and workers continue to be harmed by surges of imports from China, the Administration has taken no action to protect Americans.
“There is no way in the world that Congress would have approved that deal with China without the Section 421 safeguards,” Rockefeller said to witnesses at the hearing. “If the Administration fails to take action on it, then the safeguards are meaningless. This is something we must fix, and that’s why I introduced my trade bill.”
The legislation that allowed China to join the WTO included a specific “safeguard” provision – Section 421 – that provides for temporary relief from surges of imports from China that harm U.S. industries. On four separate occasions, the U.S. International Trade Commission has recommended “safeguard” relief under Section 421, but all four times, the President has failed to provide that relief. Most recently, in December of 2005, relief would have helped U.S. steel pipe and tube manufacturers. This neglect effectively renders this crucial aspect of our laws regarding trade with China meaningless.
Rockefeller’s trade bill, the Strengthening America’s Trade Laws Act of 2007, will improve U.S. trade enforcement capacity. To enforce United States rights and other countries’ obligations under international law in context of the WTO, Rockefeller’s bill will strengthen U.S. standing in WTO dispute settlement proceedings by allowing U.S. businesses to participate directly. It will also bolster Congress’s role in WTO disputes and give Congress more authority to respond to adverse decisions.
In regards to enforcing U.S. domestic trade laws Rockefeller’s bill will: