The Committee to Support U. S. Trade Laws (CSUSTL) is organizing a “Conference on the Renaissance of American Manufacturing” at the National Press Club on September 28th in Washington, D. C. to discuss how to get the United States back in business as a world leader in manufacturing and create political momentum going into the fall congressional elections that will lead to changes in government policies to benefit U. S. manufacturers and their workers. Other issues to be discussed include structural changes needed in the United States; what must be done to bring manufacturing back; how to make trade laws and trade agreements effective for the manufacturing sector; and the politics of rebuilding manufacturing. The conference is open to the public. To register, send an email to privas@kslaw.com.
The CSUSTL is an organization of companies, trade associations, labor unions, workers, and individuals committed to preserving and enhancing U. S. trade laws. CSUSTL’s members span all sectors, including manufacturing, technology, agriculture, mining, energy, and services. CSUSTL is dedicated to ensuring that the already weak trade laws are not further weakened through legislation or policy decisions in Washington, D. C., in international negotiations, or through dispute settlements at the World Trade Organization and elsewhere.
Gilbert Kaplan, president of CSUSTL, said “A lot of people are concerned about manufacturing all across the spectrum, in the Democratic and Republican parties. But we keep losing manufacturing jobs, and plants are moving off-shore. The question is why haven’t we made progress and what do we need to do to make more progress?” (Friday, July 30, 2010 Manufacturing & Technology News)
As reported on September 9, 2009 in PRNewswire, CSUSTL submitted comments to the Office of the U. S. Trade Representative regarding the proposed U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement. CSUSTL strongly objected to the antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) provisions of the section on trade remedies, citing concerns that the proposed measures would result in changes to the related legal processes, ultimately jeopardizing the ability of U. S. business to seek relief when harmed by unfairly-priced foreign imports
Mr. David Hartquist, Executive Director of CSUSTL, remarked, “While there is no doubt that the Agreement offers some economic benefits to U. S. industry, there is a strong risk that these U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement provision could seriously put at risk the integrity and enforceability of U.S. AD/CVD laws, which should be at the core of U. S. trade policy . . . they would set a very dangerous precedent for future free trade agreements the United States may enter with other countries.”
On Thursday, August 5, 2010, CSUSTL commended U. S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) for their legislation introduced to combat the evasion of U. S. trade remedy laws through custom fraud. CSUSTL President Gilbert Kaplan said, “Passing this legislation will give the U. S. government the tools it needs to prevent bad actors from committing fraud and evasion to avoid paying antidumping and countervailing duties. This is particularly crucial for U. S. companies struggling to recover from the recession that have trade orders in place. It is now more important than ever to have strong and enforceable trade laws in this country.” The Enforcing Orders and Reducing Circumvention and Evasion Act of 2010 (ENFORCE Act) gives the Department of Commerce the authority to investigate possible circumvention of AD/CVD orders. It establishes, for the first time, a procedure whereby U. S. industry can petition the U. S. government to investigate specific allegations of AD/CVD evasion.
Roger Schagrin, Chairman of CSUSTL’s Government Affairs Committee urged the House and Senate to “act on enforcement legislation this year, so that we can end evasion that reduces the utility of trade remedy orders and impedes economic recovery.”
The United States and the Republic of Korea signed the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement on June 30, 2007, but Congress hasn’t ratified it yet.
During his presidential campaign, then Senator Barack Obama pledged to “create good paying jobs here in America” in a speech to the United Steelworkers Union in 2008, but now as President, “his insistence to forge ahead with a trade pact negotiated under the Bush administration and almost universally loathed in his own party has baffled some, who say it is a betrayal of his campaign promises on trade.” While some Congressional Democrats have vowed to fight against the agreement, many critics are now calling for the agreement to be renegotiated instead of scrapped altogether.
In a letter to the president, Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) wrote, We believe the Administration must focus on driving a hard bargain with Korea – one that shows success in gaining market access while combating unfair trade practices, and providing a new framework that gives confidence to American producers and manufacturers that global trade deals product jobs and better living conditions at home and abroad.”
According to the Economic Policy Institute’s estimates, the agreement could cost as many as 159,000 American jobs and increase the trade deficit by $16.7 billion in just the first seven years. With unemployment hovering around 10 percent and an employment gap of nearly 11 million jobs, the last thing needed is a trade agreement that will cost more American jobs and raise the trade deficit.
Would it be any different on trade issues if Republicans took back control of Congress in November? Not according to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. On August 2, 2010, he reportedly said that voters could expect less spending and government intervention and a renewed push to finish free trade deals with Colombia, South Korea and Panama.
It would seem that no matter which political party controls Congress, American manufacturers and their workers lose, either through oppressive regulations and taxes that drive jobs overseas or through free trade agreements that entice the export of jobs. Will either party ever come to the realization that what the American people need is jobs? If our elected representatives don’t wake up, it will not be possible to have an American manufacturing renaissance that would create the jobs our country needs.