In his State of the Union speech, President Obama
announced the creation of a trade enforcement unit that will be charged
with investigating unfair trade practices. Congressman Mike Michaud,
Chairman of the House Trade Working Group, recently wrote to President
Obama requesting that he establish a new trade enforcement office as his
Administration seeks to consolidate federal agencies that oversee trade
and business.
"For too long our country has not focused enough
resources on enforcing trade agreements already on the books," said
Michaud. "It's critical for our businesses and workers that our
government has their back and will do everything possible to make sure
they're competing on a level playing field. This trade enforcement
initiative is very welcome news, and I look forward to ensuring that it
has teeth and the necessary resources to get the job done."
According to the White House, the new trade enforcement unit will bring
together resources and investigators from across the federal government
to go after unfair trade practices in countries around the world,
including China. In addition, the President called for enhancing trade
inspections to stop counterfeit, pirated, or unsafe goods before they
enter the United States.
The full text of the letter.
President Obama
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear President Obama:
I
write to urge you to establish an Office of Trade Enforcement as part
of your proposed plan to consolidate the federal agencies that oversee
trade and business. Federal trade enforcement efforts currently are
dispersed across numerous offices within federal and independent
agencies. These agencies' enforcement initiatives are not
well-coordinated and are supported by insufficient resources, leaving
American businesses and workers without one consolidated resource for
their trade violation concerns. At a time when government is asked to do
more with less, a dedicated Office of Trade Enforcement would
streamline efforts to uphold our trade law and ensure American
businesses and workers compete on a level playing field.
The
Department of Commerce, the International Trade Commission (ITC), and
the United States Trade Representative (USTR) currently share
jurisdiction over U.S. trade enforcement efforts. The sheer number of
cases and investigations underway in each of these departments
underscores the need for a dedicated Office of Trade Enforcement,
particularly as China's pattern of illicit trade practices persists. The
Department of Commerce has 60 anti-dumping and countervailing duty
orders in place against Chinese companies alone. The ITC is currently
pursuing 25 import-injury investigations for additional anti-dumping and
countervailing duty petitions, seven of which pertain to Chinese goods.
The Trade Compliance Center (TCC) initiated 38 and closed 31 FTA
compliance cases in 2011. In addition, USTR is currently pursuing nine
cases at the World Trade Organization (WTO), five of which are against
China.
Despite this impressive list of cases and investigations,
existing enforcement and monitoring efforts cannot keep up with the
global economy. For example, although the 35-person staff in the General
Counsel's office also handles trade enforcement, USTR has no staff that
is singularly dedicated to monitoring and enforcement. The TCC has only
14 full-time staff tasked with monitoring and enforcing more than 270
U.S. trade agreements. Clearly these resources are inadequate.
Consolidating all trade remedy offices into one would streamline and
improve coordination of trade enforcement matters. In addition, a
dedicated Office of Trade Enforcement would enable the administration to
closely follow the negative impacts of U.S. trade commitments and
adjust national trade policy accordingly.
An Office of Trade
Enforcement would also provide a more effective resource for small- and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). While the Department of Commerce and
ITC offer important assistance to companies that are struggling to
compete with their foreign counterparts, enforcement assistance and
outreach must be expanded to ensure that the expansion of U.S. trade
does not come at the expense of SMEs. Even with existing assistance
programs, most small businesses do not have the resources to navigate
the bureaucracy of multiple agencies. Smaller companies would benefit
tremendously from a single point-of-contact on these issues.
I
applaud the prioritization of trade enforcement by the administration,
but more must be done. China's persistent violation of international
trade law, combined with an increasingly global economy, makes trade
enforcement now more important than ever. Establishing a specific Office
of Trade Enforcement will ensure we promote trade enforcement and trade
expansion equally and to the benefit of large and small businesses
alike.
Sincerely,
Mike Michaud
Member of Congress
