WASHINGTON - Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-MI) and Trade Subcommittee Ranking Member Jim McDermott (D-WA) issued the following statements regarding today’s U.S. victory before the World Trade Organization Appellate Body in the U.S. challenge of China’s raw materials export restraints. The decision affirms a July 2011 WTO finding:
LEVIN: “I commend the Administration for its hard work in prosecuting this case - possibly the most commercially significant WTO victory we have had over China’s predatory trade practices. This victory will help level the playing field for U.S. steel and chemical producers - and to maintain and create more American manufacturing jobs.
“It is also important to put this case in the context of the President’s broader trade enforcement initiative, announced last Tuesday. China is notorious for its lack of transparency and threats of retaliation against U.S. businesses that assist in bringing these disputes. USTR deserves a great deal of credit for overcoming those challenges. Congress must provide additional resources to help USTR overcome these challenges in future cases. In the mean time, the President’s creation of a Trade Enforcement Unit will help to direct existing tools and resources to the challenge at hand."
MCDERMOTT: “The President has made clear that the economy is his top priority and House Democrats have been relentless in trying to urge House Republicans to address what Americans are most concerned about - jobs. The Administration was right to prosecute this case, and today’s WTO decision is a major victory for the American industries and workers that have been affected by China’s unfair export policies. It also clears the way for the United States and other WTO Members to challenge China’s many other export restraints, including those involving ‘rare earth’ minerals that are critical to the manufacturing of so many clean energy and advanced technology products in the United States."
