Gallego Cosponsors Bill to Counter China's Unfair Trade Practices

Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) has cosponsored legislation to counter China's unfair trade practices, which hurt American industry and workers.

The Leveling the Playing Field 2.0 Act builds upon the original Act, which became law in 2015 under President Barack Obama.

The original Act closed loopholes the Chinese took advantage of in international commerce, enhancing the Department of Commerce's "ability to get the information it needs in antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings, including from non-cooperative foreign companies and governments," as a 2015 fact sheet explained.

The Leveling the Playing Field 2.0 Act establishes "successive investigations" to expedite new cases against companies and countries that repeatedly violate trade laws when moving production to another country.

Additionally, the Department of Commerce's countervailing duty proceedings will extend to companies subsidized by foreign governments. Lastly, the bill imposes statutory requirements for anti-circumvention inquiries to clarify the process and timeline.

The bill focuses on China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), in which the Chinese government subsidizes its companies operating abroad and supports their movement to other countries to evade US tariffs.

In his press release, Sen. Gallego said, "For too long, bad actors have rigged the system to put American industries and our workers at an unfair disadvantage. The bipartisan Leveling the Playing Field 2.0 Act gives us the tools we need to hold them accountable and stop them from gaming the system. By strengthening our trade laws, we level the playing field for American businesses."

In late November, before his inauguration, President Donald Trump announced his intentions to place tariffs on Chinese imports, partly in retaliation for the continued manufacturing of fentanyl that is smuggled into the United States via Mexico.

"I have had many talks with China about the massive amounts of drugs, in particular fentanyl, being sent into the United States – But to no avail. Representatives of China told me that they would institute their maximum penalty, that of death, for any drug dealers caught doing this, but, unfortunately, they never followed through, and drugs are pouring into our Country, mostly through Mexico, at levels never seen before," said Trump.