Legislation seeks to address unfair trade

Jul 23, 2023

The "Leveling the Playing Field 2.0 Act," or H.R. 3882, was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives June 7 by Reps. Terri Sewell, a Democrat representing Alabama, and Bill Johnson, a Republican representing Ohio, who were joined by Reps. Frank Mrvan, a Democrat representing Indiana, and Beth Van Duyne, a Republican representing Texas. Sens. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio, and Todd Young, a Republication from Indiana, also introduced companion legislation in the Senate June 7. The sponsors of the proposed legislation say it would strengthen U.S. trade remedy laws and ensure they remain effective tools to fight back against unfair trade practices and protect American workers.The legislation updates the previous Leveling the Playing Field Act, which was signed into law in 2015 and addressed persistent and evolving threats from unfair competition, the sponsors say. The new bill would establish the new concept of "successive investigations" to improve the effectiveness of the U.S. trade remedy system in responding to repeat offenders, helping to level the playing field for American workers. Additionally, the bill responds to China's Belt and Road Initiative, which provides Chinese government subsidies for products made in other countries, and Chinese-supported companies that move portions of production to other countries to circumvent American duties, a practice known as "country hopping."

Roughly half of unfair trade cases are in the steel industry, according to a news release from Sen. Brown's office. However, these unfair trade cases also affect industries that make engines, furniture, hardwood plywood, welded pipe, solar panels, pipes and tubes, wood moldings, truck trailer chassis, magnesium, paper, industrial materials, carrier bags, magnesia bricks, kitchen cabinets, quartz countertops, tires and many others.

According to the bills’ sponsors, the Leveling the Playing Field 2.0 Act pushes back against China's anti-free market practices by providing the U.S. Department of Commerce with more tools to stop circumvention tactics by:

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), Washington, has voiced its support for the proposed legislation.

Kevin Dempsey, president and CEO of AISI, says, "The American steel industry is the backbone of the U.S. economy and produces the cleanest steel in the world. But the industry has faced repeated surges of unfairly traded steel imports in recent years—due largely to dumped and subsidized imports from many countries and regions, including those that produce steel with higher carbon intensity than U.S. steelmakers."

While he says American steelmakers have successfully sought relief under the U.S. trade remedy system, they have faced surging steel imports of the same products from other countries that are not subject to the original AD or CVD orders.

"By strengthening the effectiveness of the U.S. trade laws, this bill will help give the American public confidence that their government has every tool available to fight for a level playing field for the American steel industry and our workers," Dempsey says.

The United Steelworkers also supports the legislation, with that organization's President Tom Conway saying, "Bipartisan trade legislation, like Sens. Brown and Young's Leveling the Playing Field Act 2.0, show that helping American workers and their employers is a priority for Congress. Countering China's Belt and Road Initiative by accounting for the country's foreign subsidies and updating our trade rules to make it easier for U.S. workers and firms to fight illegally dumped and subsidized goods will ensure that we don't lose critical supply chains to trade cheating. Ensuring our trade enforcement regime works faster ensures that workers and companies can focus on making things in America."