In testimony before the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, AAM Chairman Scott Paul argued that the United States needs to learn from its past mistakes and steer into a new era.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) A marathon public hearing will be held on Thursday. As the United States considers ways to promote supply chain resilience, our country’s Scott Paul called for trade and investment policies that “strengthen, not undermine, domestic incentives for manufacturing.”
Paul told the USTR team that people like him have been sounding the alarm for decades about the threat posed by supply chain vulnerabilities and “China’s myriad unfair trade practices.” Those warnings were largely ignored, and things began to change thanks to a “global pandemic and massive supply chain disruptions.”
Now, the Biden administration is taking a new approach to “worker-centered” trade policy, which Paul called “refreshing.” But for the new approach to work, Paul added, policies need to be set correctly. And as AAM announced, there is much work to be done. Comments written. Paul explained:
The overarching theme of these recommendations is the idea that trade and investment policies must work to strengthen, not undermine, domestic incentives for manufacturing.
Another theme is prioritizing expansion of all stages of manufacturing in the U.S., including upstream inputs critical to final product assembly and completion of manufacturing.
The third theme is protecting U.S. interests from countries, particularly the People’s Republic of China, that are willing to “weaponize” supply chains to use their own political and security interests to the detriment of others. It is.
Specific policy recommendations provided by AAM in written comments include:
- Passing “Leveling the Playing Field 2.0” to address “country hopping” tactics.
- Reform the minimum rules routinely used to avoid trade enforcement and customs inspections.
- Maintain Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum to ensure the strength of these industries that are critical to national security.
- Continue Section 301 tariffs on imports from China, and in some cases increase tariffs.
- Suspension or cancellation of permanent normal trade relations with China as recommended by the bipartisan U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.
- A USTR Section 301 investigation in this area will thoroughly investigate Chinese shipbuilding and its impact on U.S. industry.
- Fully implement and enforce the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Law, with greater emphasis on metals and auto parts.
Paul noted that some of the initiatives put in place to encourage domestic manufacturing and grow supply chains are already bearing fruit. Congress and the Biden administration have directed “significant funding” to develop a national charging network for electric vehicles and combined that funding with Buy America requirements. As a result, in a short period of time, the U.S. “went from having almost no domestic production of EV fast chargers to more than 40 U.S.-based EV charger factories.”
Similarly, CHIPS and the Science Act spurred a factory building boom that greatly increased the number of planned factories in electronics, computers, and semiconductors.
“Producers across the supply chain are responding to policies set by Congress and the administration. Supply chains will be stronger if we have strong trade and investment measures in place,” Paul said. “Going forward, it will be important to monitor avoidance or evasion of these measures.”
check out Details from USTR hearings Be sure to read Scott Paul’s book complete written testimony.
