There’s been years of delays on new ITC commissioner appointments. But it would be risky to fast track rushed nominations in the final moments of the current congressional session.
Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul wrote the leaders of the Senate Finance Committee on Friday to urge the panel to not rush consideration of recently nominated candidates for the International Trade Commission (ITC).
Following concerns lodged by industry groups that it should not fast track the process without proper vetting, the committee abruptly announced that it would hold a hearing on Wednesday, Dec. 18 to consider James Bernard Coughlan, Halie L. Craig, and William Patrick J. Kimmitt to serve as members of the ITC. According to reporting by Politico, a coalition of “tax and business groups” want the Senate to “approve the nominees before adjourning.”
But in his letter, Paul urges Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) to instead “work in a bipartisan manner with the next administration to nominate and fully vet qualified candidates for the position of ITC commissioner.”
Paul writes:
“U.S. manufacturers and their workers rely on the Committee to scrutinize any previous work experience or public comments which may suggest that an ITC nominee is not qualified or does not respect our trade enforcement laws. Unfortunately, unfair trade practices are an everyday reality for U.S. manufacturers and their workers and a broader existential danger to our rules-based market economy. Left unchecked, trade cheating results in negative community and personal impacts on people’s lives when a factory closes or is forced to operate at a reduced capacity. Indeed, the deterioration of our industrial base due to unfair trade has had profound consequences for our national security.
“We urge the Committee to thoroughly execute its advice and consent responsibilities to confirm that the President’s ITC nominations are “possessed of qualifications requisite for developing expert knowledge of international trade problems and efficiency in administering the duties and functions of the Commission.”
The Finance Committee has long “relied on procedural precedents for vetting nominees,” Paul notes, which has ensured that the panel properly exercised its due diligence. Rushing through nominees to fill such important roles now could prove harmful, considering the ITC “plays an important role in ensuring a level playing field and fair market competition across countless industrial sectors.”
“The Committee’s work should not be hurried by last-minute appointments or under the misguided rationale that legislative days are dwindling,” Paul writes. “Indeed, it would be particularly troubling to both domestic industries and workers to rush nominations made in the waning days of the current administration after years of delays on new ITC commissioner appointments.”
AAM isn’t the only organization urging the committee to not rush the confirmation process. The Committee to Support U.S. Trade Laws also wrote Wyden and Crapo, arguing there is “not sufficient time to adequately evaluate” the nominations and “a rushed review will prevent Congress from confirming that the nominees meet the demanding requirements for an ITC Commissioner, as well as their adherence to the standards and expectations of the American people for strong enforcement of our trade laws.”