Sen. Brown Hopes to Add Antidumping Enforcement Measures to TPA
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, still aims to add a recently-introduced trade enforcement bill onto Trade Promotion Authority, he told us on March 9. Brown introduced the Leveling the Playing Field Act in December (here). That bill would make it easier…
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for the Commerce Department to apply “adverse facts available” in antidumping investigations, and would require importers to pay cash deposits, instead of bonds, during new shipper reviews. It would also penalize importers for failing to provide certificates, such as those pertaining to country of origin. “Through floor amendments or any place we can, we hope it’s part of the [TPA] agreement,” said Brown. “We’re working [the U.S. Trade Representative]. We’re working Department of Commerce. We’re working Wyden and Hatch.” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and ranking member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., haven’t yet struck a deal on Trade Promotion Authority, despite expectations that a bill would surface in recent weeks. Although Brown pledged to strengthen TPA through those antidumping measures, he said it’s unlikely he’ll support the underlying TPA bill. “All the evidence that’s in for 20 years since NAFTA shows stagnant wages, job loss, weaker environmental laws, weaker worker safety laws, weaker human rights laws,” Brown said. “So there’s no real evidence that these trade policies are working, so why do we want to do more?” Both Brown and Wyden want enforcement measures on TPA (see 1501130001).