Bill would stand up to WTO, level the playing field for U.S. products and businesses

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin, the senior Democrat on the House Trade Subcommittee, today introduced legislation to change the course of U.S. trade policy and level the playing field for American workers, businesses and farmers. 

Rep. Cardin’s bill, the Restoring America’s Competitiveness Act (TRACA) is a key component of trade policy reform championed by Congressional Democrats to stand up for U.S. interests and reform anti-dumping and countervailing duty laws to promote fair trade.

“We need an aggressive trade policy to defend our rights in the WTO and level the playing field for American workers, businesses and farmers,” said Rep. Cardin.  “We cannot continue to allow unfair practices to place our nation at a competitive disadvantage.  This is too important to wait any longer.  If we do not level the playing field now, we risk losing vital leverage resulting in a further disadvantage for American workers.”  

TRACA would direct the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to end discriminatory practices, such as the discrepancy between direct and indirect taxes, which place the United States in a competitive disadvantage with our trading partners.  If USTR fails to act, TRACA would authorize countervailing duties against products found to benefit from the rebate of an indirect tax.

TRACA also would provide deeper scrutiny of international trade law enforcement, holding the World Trade Organization (WTO) panels accountable to existing law.  The bill would give U.S. businesses, unions and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) a level playing field by granting access to WTO cases, as their European and Asian counterparts enjoy. 

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