This bipartisan bill would create a special task force charged with investigating and prosecuting trade crimes and provide new resources to support this important work.
Coming this fall on NBC: Law & Order: Trade Crimes Unit.
Now, this is a little joke from all of us who have watched Dick Wolf-produced shows over the years. actually Most notably, bipartisan legislation to establish a new Trade Crimes Unit at the Department of Justice (DOJ) took a major step toward passage on Wednesday.
Protecting American Business and Labor from International Trade Crimes Act Passed unanimously House Judiciary Committee. The bill, introduced by Select Committee on China Communist Party Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI), Ranking Committee Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), and Representative Ashley Hinson (R-IA), would create a new organization within the Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute trade crimes and provide training and financial support to law enforcement agencies performing this important task at the local, state, and federal levels. The Attorney General would also be required to submit annual reports to Congress on these efforts.
The new office aims to play a key role in addressing China’s ongoing violations of U.S. trade laws, including tariff evasion and transshipment, members said. The bill is one of several policies that a special committee on the Communist Party of China recommended Congress pass last year to address China’s egregious trade practices that have led to the loss of millions of American jobs and the weakening of U.S. businesses, including manufacturers.
“The Chinese Communist Party has blatantly violated United States trade laws and has long exploited American workers with impunity, destroying local manufacturing towns, and enabling the Chinese Communist Party’s forced labor,” Hinson said. said“This bipartisan bill will finally crack down on Communist China’s illegal trade practices and bring American manufacturing back home.”
Other lawmakers who introduced the bill include Rep. Elise Stefanik (NY), Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL), Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-LA), Rep. Nate Moran (R-TX), Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA), Rep. Ben Klein (R-VA), Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA), Rep. Deborah Ross (D-Nashville County), and Rep. Lou Correa (D-CA).
The Federation of American Manufacturing He expressed support for the bill When the bill was introduced earlier this year, AAM President Scott Paul said it “appropriately prioritizes the prosecution of trade crimes, is desperately needed and long overdue.”
“Tariff fraud and other trade crimes are far-reaching, hurting domestic industries, destroying jobs and robbing communities across the country of their economic lifeline,” Paul said.
Other groups supporting the bipartisan bill include the Uyghur Campaign, the American Iron and Steel Institute, the National Council of Textile Organizations and the Coalition for a Prosperous America.
“For years, the Chinese Communist Party’s predatory trade policies have violated U.S. trade laws and exploited American businesses, workers, and consumers through trade crimes such as dumping, tariff evasion, and fraud,” Krishnamoorthi said. said “Today’s bipartisan passage of the bill out of the Judiciary Committee is an important step toward holding perpetrators of these illegal acts criminally accountable. I look forward to working with my colleagues in both parties to ensure this bill becomes law.”
