In an effort to up the ante on the fight against China’s illegal trade practices, 37 Members of Congress signed a letter to Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), Chairman of the Justice and Science and Related Agencies Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, and to Ranking Member Rep. Chakkah Fattah (D-PA). The letter urges the committee to invest in additional resources for China-specific trade enforcement.

The letter calls for a modest $6.6 million increase in funding to allow the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to coordinate and implement a more comprehensive strategy to ensure a balanced trading relationship with China. Illegal dumping, subsidies, currency manipulation, and other trade barriers create an unlevel playing field for American companies and their workers. 

The result?  Our economy sheds jobs.  We lose defense industrial base capacity.  We become more reliant on critical components for weapons systems. For example, China has been restricting exports of rare-earth minerals and elements used in many defense applications.

We applaud the bipartisan group of representatives who signed on to this letter, and hope that the Committee on Appropriations recognizes the importance of fully funding this important initiative.