The Trade Debate Moves to the House

By Taylor Garland
May 26 2015 |
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (left) and Speaker John Boehner. | Photo by Talk Radio News Service via Flickr

The House will now have the chance to make trade work for American manufacturers and workers.

The Senate worked late on Friday to pass several bills before the holiday recess, one of which was the notorious Trade Promotion Authority (TPA). The bill passed the Senate 62-37 without strong and enforceable currency rules, regrettably.

That’s not to say the Senate didn’t have the chance. The Senate voted to reject the Portman-Stabenow amendment to address currency manipulation with strong and enforceable provisions in TPA on Friday afternoon by a vote of 48-51.

But all is not lost in the trade debate for American manufacturers and workers.

The Obama administration and Republican leadership in the House may need to extend an olive branch — trade enforcement — to Members of Congress who represent districts that have been negatively impacted by unfair trade. There are two bills in the House that that would make it easier for U.S. industries to fight back against unfair foreign trade practices.

The first, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act, overwhelmingly passed the Senate 78-20. This bill includes the Schumer Currency Amendment that directs the Comerce Department to investigate undervalued currencies as a subsidy under U.S. trade remedy laws. The second enforcement measure, the American Trade Enforcement Effectiveness Act, was introduced in the House last week by Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.).  Both bills are backed by several steel industry leaders.

The House of Representatives has the chance to stand up for American businesses and workers who face of flood of illegally dumped imports. “Trade enforcement and currency manipulation must also be addressed as a part of Trade Promotion Authority legislation, or trade agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership will fail to deliver for American workers,” said Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul.