WASHINGTON - Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) and Trade Subcommittee Chairman Sander M. Levin (D-MI) submitted a letter recently to Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez and U.S. Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab regarding unfair trade disciplines within the Doha Round of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations.
The Chairmen noted that several WTO dispute settlement decisions, including the so-called ‘mandatory offsets’ or ‘zeroing’ decisions, have upset the balance of rights and obligations that was struck in past negotiations and called on the Administration to restore that balance. They also stated that the underlying problem of dispute settlement "overreach" must be addressed "at its root" and called on the Administration to negotiate new rules to level the playing field for U.S. businesses, workers, and farmers.
