Trade

I support free trade. But trade must also be fair.

I have seen the effects of unfair trade policies in West Central Illinois. The manufacturing sector, historically a key component of Illinois’ economy, has seen 3 million jobs lost to NAFTA. And our trade deficit has gone from $100 billion to over $700 billion since its passage.

In Galesburg, IL, NAFTA drove 1600 good paying Maytag jobs to Reynosa, Mexico. I will not vote for any trade agreement that will outsource another single American job.

As a member of the House Trade Working Group, I am committed to fighting for a new direction on trade that protects American jobs while promoting labor and environmental standards abroad. These standards must be enforceable, not made a part of side deals, which have historically been ignored.

TRADE Act:
In 2006, the American people elected Democrats to forge a new direction on trade that protects American jobs, lifts people out of poverty, and preserves our natural resources. In response to this call, the House Trade Working Group introduced the Trade Reform, Accountability, Development, and Employment (TRADE) Act of 2008, which establishes a clear path to reform our broken trade policies and a comprehensive framework to negotiate future trade deals.

The TRADE Act allows businesses and farmers to export their goods on a level playing field. It requires a review of existing trade agreements and a renegotiation of those agreements if necessary. It sets the terms of what must be included in trade deals—including strong, enforceable labor and environmental standards. It also defines what should not be in these deals—such as incentives for outsourcing.

Titan Tire International and the ITC:
On July 8, 2008 I testified before the International Trade Commission (ITC) in support of Titan Tire International and the United Steel Workers (USW)’s petition against imports of certain off-the-road (OTR) tires from China that have caused material injury to the domestic OTR tire industry.

On August 15, 2008, the ITC decided in favor of Titan and USW’s petition. The U.S. Department of Commerce issued final antidumping and countervailing duty orders on Chinese imports and will require importers to post duties equal to the amount of dumping and subsidization found for individual Chinese companies.

Until Titan and the Steelworkers brought this case, U.S. jobs were declining in the OTR industry and Chinese exports were surging. After the Department of Commerce imposed preliminary duties late last year, Chinese imports fell off and things began to turn around for the industry. Production, shipments and jobs are all back up.

I am very pleased that Titan and the Steelworkers prevailed in this case and were able to stop the export of dumped and government subsidized tires from China. The ITC’s determination provides a very good example of our country’s trade remedy laws operating as Congress intended. It is good to know that when exports from any nation cause undue economic injury to U.S. companies and workers, there are tools to address that harm and restore fairness to the U.S. marketplace.

This is an especially important decision for the people of our area, since Titan International is headquartered in Quincy. It reaffirms to the men and women working for Titan that our government can help combat unfair trade in the OTR industry. If you give American workers a level playing field, they can compete successfully with anyone in the world.