A coalition of manufacturing groups sent a letter to members of the House of Representatives Rules Committee voicing their support for Bost-Lamb-Crawford amendment to 2021 Defense Appropriations Act, to ensure sufficient resources to combat illegal foreign trade practices (Amendment #76 to H.R. 7617).
“The Bost-Lamb-Crawford amendment (amendment #76) would help ensure adequate funding for critical trade law enforcement and compliance efforts within the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA). As representatives of industries that have been harmed by unfair trade practices including illegal dumping and subsidization of imports, we strongly urge the Rules Committee to allow a vote on this important amendment.” said the letter.
As background, the ITA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance (E&C) administers the U.S. antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) trade laws as well as circumvention of trade remedy cases. These laws play a critical role in ensuring fair trade and supporting domestic manufacturing and U.S. workers, especially as we continue to respond to the economic effects of the COVID-19 crisis. However, the ability of E&C to carry out its mission is seriously compromised given the exponential increase in trade cases in recent years. Specifically, the number of E&C AD/CVD enforcement actions has surged by over 60 percent in the last five years, while staffing has lagged significantly.”
The full letter can be found here.
