July 25, 2024
WASHINGTON, D.C.– Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI), alongside Congresswoman Ashley Hinson (R-IA) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), today introduced the bipartisan Protecting American Industry and Labor from International Trade Crimes Act.
Original co-sponsors of this bill include House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY), House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), as well as Representatives Darin LaHood (R-IL), Glenn Ivey (D-LA), Nate Moran (R-TX), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Ben Cline (R-VA), Haley Stevens (D-MI), Kevin Kiley (R-CA), Deborah Ross (D-NC), and Lou Correa (D-CA).
Companies based in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) frequently commit crimes violating U.S. trade laws including fraud, duty evasion, and transshipment which benefit the PRC’s non-market economy and undermine U.S. companies and workers. Countless Americans have lost their jobs due to this criminal activity. Despite the large volume of trade crime-related cases, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has under-resourced its prosecution of these crimes.
This legislation aims to combat these crimes by directing the DOJ to establish a new structure dedicated to prosecuting international trade crimes. This will enhance U.S. capabilities for detecting, investigating, and prosecuting trade fraud, duty evasion, transshipment, and other trade-related crimes.
“Not a week goes by without the Committee learning of yet another American company harmed by Chinese companies shipping their goods through other countries to illegally evade tariffs. While heightened tariff rates can help level the playing field for U.S. businesses, the legislation we are introducing today adds teeth to the tariffs and punishes companies for breaking the law. I’m proud to join Rep. Ashely Hinson in co-sponsoring this crucial legislation that will give law enforcement the power to hold CCP trade criminals accountable and will support American businesses who are the victims of these crimes,” said Chairman John Moolenaar.
“For decades, Communist China has blatantly violated U.S. trade laws and ripped off American workers with no accountability or consequences. This has led to shuttered factories and devastating job losses across the country, hollowing out American industry and gutting rural manufacturing towns while enabling the CCP’s forced labor practices. My bipartisan legislation will ensure we finally crack down on Communist China’s illicit trade practices so that we can reshore American manufacturing and provide opportunities for American workers,” said Congresswoman Ashley Hinson.
“For years, the Chinese Communist Party’s predatory trade policies have violated American trade laws and victimized American companies, workers, and consumers through trade crimes like dumping, duty evasion, and fraud. Our bipartisan legislation cracks down on these crimes by establishing a new unit at the Department of Justice dedicated to enforcing U.S. trade laws and holding perpetrators criminally liable for these illegal activities. Whether it is dumping below-market iron and steel, flooding the American market with illegal vapes, or violating the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, we must send an unmistakable message to companies based in the People’s Republic of China that their illegal trade practices must end now,” said Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi.
The Protecting American Industry and Labor from International Trade Crimes Act:
· Establishes a new task force or similar structure within the DOJ’s Criminal Division to investigate and prosecute trade-related crimes.
· Enhances nationwide responses to trade-related offenses by providing training and technical assistance to other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, expanding investigations and prosecutions, and allowing for parallel criminal and civil enforcement actions.
· Requires the Attorney General to submit an annual report to Congress assessing the DOJ’s efforts, statistics on trade-related crimes, and fund utilization.
· Authorizes $20,000,000 for FY 2025 to support these efforts with appropriate guardrails.
Click HERE to read bill text.
What They’re Saying about the Protecting American Industry and Labor from International Trade Crimes Act:
America First Policy Institute:
“Companies based in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have consistently violated U.S. trade laws, including duty evasion, fraud, and transshipment through third countries. Refusing to abide by international law enables the PRC’s non-market economy, authoritarian Communist leadership, and Uyghur forced labor in China’s Xinjiang province while simultaneously undermining U.S. companies and workers.
“AFPI supports efforts to prosecute PRC violations of Section 301 and 232 tariffs and abuses under the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act. We must hold the CCP accountable for its flagrant economic and human rights crimes,” said Adam Savit, Director of the China Policy Initiative at AFPI.
Campaign for Uyghurs
“The Protecting American Industry and Labor from International Trade Crimes Act of 2024 establishes a new framework within the Department of Justice (DOJ) to ensure compliance with trade laws meant to uphold justice, including the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). The UFLPA has set a strong precedent to prevent the American market from being tainted by forced labor. This legislation goes a step further in holding violators accountable and closing accountability gaps in the current system.
No one should turn a blind eye to the ongoing Uyghur genocide and CCP state-sponsored exploitation of Uyghur people for forced labor. Those who continue to undermine the UFLPA and existing trade laws, should face appropriate consequences. Campaign for Uyghurs urges the swift passage of this critical legislation, which centers transparency in actions taken to ensure the American market is protected from trade crimes.”
Coalition for a Prosperous America:
“Right now, CPA member companies are forced to compete with Chinese and other foreign entities that are committing trade fraud and other criminal activities that are directly harming U.S. producers and American workers,” said Michael Stumo, CEO of CPA. “Earlier this year, DHS raided Sunsong North America in Moraine, Ohio, the U.S. subsidiary of China’s Qingdao Sunsong, an automobile parts manufacturer that is currently under investigation by federal authorities for trade fraud. This underscores the urgent need for the Department of Justice to have enhanced authority and resources to prosecute international trade crimes effectively, thereby protecting American manufacturers and workers from malicious foreign entities intent on displacing them. Congress should swiftly pass this bipartisan legislation.”
Alliance for American Manufacturing
“The Alliance for American Manufacturing commends the introduction of the bipartisan Protecting American Industry and Labor from International Trade Crimes Act of 2024. The legislation rightly prioritizes the prosecution of trade crimes and is both sorely needed and long overdue. Customs fraud and other trade crimes are pernicious in their reach, harming domestic industries, destroying jobs, and robbing communities across the country of their economic lifeblood,” said Scott Paul, President of the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM).
American Iron and Steel Institute
“AISI applauds the work of Representatives Krishnamoorthi and Hinson on the introduction of the Protecting American Industry and Labor from International Trade Crimes Act. By establishing within the Department of Justice a task force or similar structure specifically dedicated to prosecuting trade crimes, this legislation will help ensure that criminal activities to evade U.S. customs and trade laws are appropriately addressed by federal prosecutors. Full and vigorous enforcement of both the criminal and civil aspects of U.S. customs and trade laws is of critical importance to the American steel industry and its workers,” said Kevin Dempsey, president and CEO of the American Iron and Steel Institute.
National Council of Textile Organizations:
“We commend the House Judiciary Committee and the House Select Committee on the CCP for highlighting the urgent need to establish a formal structure within the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division dedicated to aggressively prosecuting trade fraud. Rampant trade crime, ranging from slave-labor made products circumventing the U.S. ban on these imports, fraudulent rules of origin claims under our free trade agreements, evasion of duties through abuse of the de minimis loophole, and myriad other practices, has severely harmed the U.S. textile and apparel supply chain. This massive fraud is directly contributing to harmful consequences for the industry, which has shuttered 18 plants over the past several months and laid off hundreds of workers. Similarly, trade fraud is also adversely impacting our Western Hemisphere trade partners, who have been forced to close plants affecting tens of thousands of jobs. This legislation puts real teeth into combating trade crimes that are undermining U.S. manufacturers, workers, and supply chains, and will ensure that those facilitating these crimes will be held accountable,” said National Council of Textile Organizations President and CEO Kim Glas.
American Shrimp Processors Association:
“America’s shrimp producers strongly support the creation of a permanent structure in the Department of Justice to focus on trade crimes,” said Trey Pearson, President of the American Shrimp Processors Association. “Our industry has been hammered by unfair imports from China and other countries, and our government needs the tools and resources to fully prosecute criminals that violate our trade laws and undermine the trade relief our producers have fought so hard to obtain.”
The Protecting American Industry and Labor from International Trade Crimes Act has also been endorsed by the United Steelworkers & AFL-CIO.
