WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Representative Pete Stark, a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee that oversees U.S. trade policy, yesterday introduced the Trade Sanction Avoidance Act (H.R. 4909). This legislation would enable a myriad of American industries to avoid hundreds of millions of dollars in trade sanctions.

“President Bush should stop playing footsie with big business and chicken with the European Union,” said Representative Stark. “Tax breaks for special interests aren’t just a raw deal for the American taxpayer. They’re also a slap in the face to farmers and small manufacturers who will soon bear the brunt of retaliatory measures. I urge Congress to act on my legislation immediately, before sanctions go into effect.”

The World Trade Organization (WTO) Appellate Body in February found – for the third time – that U.S. corporate tax laws violate WTO rules. The organization’s latest ruling held that the JOBS Act failed to bring the United States into compliance with its first ruling, which found that tax breaks provided under the Foreign Sales Corporation arrangement amounted to unfair subsidies. In May, the European Union will punish American manufactures with sanctions that will cost $809 million a year.

Said Representative Stark, “President Bush takes every opportunity to alienate our European allies. He went into Iraq alone, has refused to join the International Criminal Court, and won’t sign the Kyoto Treaty. Though it should come as no surprise that the President now seeks confrontation rather than cooperation over corporate tax subsidies, I hope Congressional Republicans will pursue a more sensible and conciliatory course.”