ROCKPORT, ME – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today announced his support for the Self-Initiation Trade Enforcement Act, bipartisan legislation which would amend the Tariff Act of 1930 to create a permanent task force at the International Trade Administration (ITA), an agency within the Department of Commerce, to focus specifically on trade violations affecting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). To further underscore the significance of SMEs for hardworking American citizens and the U.S. economy, Senator King wrote to President Trump urging his continued support for funding and resources for SMEs within the Department of Commerce and International Trade Commission.

“For small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) attempting to fight unfair trade practices, enhanced trade enforcement capabilities specifically tailored to their unique needs could be a lifeline,” Senator King wrote. “During my time in the Senate, several small businesses from Maine that believed subsidized or dumped imports were causing them material injury approached my office to learn more about the federal trade investigation process. The high cost of pursuing trade relief often prevented them from pursuing the issue.

“For those small businesses that did pursue relief, however, the counsel and advice received from the small business assistance offices at the Department of Commerce (DOC) and the International Trade Commission (ITC) proved invaluable. Staff in these offices helped them gather publically available information on foreign producers’ data, reviewed draft petitions, and offered informal advice on the applicability of U.S. trade remedy laws. While these offices cannot replace formal legal assistance, they can reduce the burdens and costs on SMEs prior to filing a petition.”

The Self-Initiation Trade Enforcement Act, introduced by Senators Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.), stipulates that the ITA establish a task force to identify countervailable subsidies and dumping that are causing or threatening to cause material injury to a domestic industry. The task force, which must prioritize cases that affect SMEs in the United States, must then make recommendations to the Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade in regards to initiating investigations.

The text of the letter is below and can be read in full HERE.

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Dear President Trump,

While we may disagree on many of the decisions made in your Fiscal Year 2019 budget proposal, I want to applaud your proposal to provide robust funding for the International Trade Administration’s (ITA) Enforcement and Compliance Business Unit.  As I wrote to you in March of last year, investing in our trade enforcement capabilities – and specifically in the ITA’s Enforcement and Compliance Business Unit – is critically important to our ability to respond swiftly and decisively when our trading partners violate agreed-upon rules and place American businesses at an unfair disadvantage. As you work to improve the trade enforcement network, I would urge you to ensure that our trade enforcement investments and policies work as well for small businesses as they do for bigger businesses.

For small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) attempting to fight unfair trade practices, enhanced trade enforcement capabilities specifically tailored to their unique needs could be a lifeline. During my time in the Senate, several small businesses from Maine that believed subsidized or dumped imports were causing them material injury approached my office to learn more about the federal trade investigation process. The high cost of pursuing trade relief often prevented them from pursuing the issue.

For those small businesses that did pursue relief, however, the counsel and advice received from the small business assistance offices at the Department of Commerce (DOC) and the International Trade Commission (ITC) proved invaluable. Staff in these offices helped them gather publically available information on foreign producers’ data, reviewed draft petitions, and offered informal advice on the applicability of U.S. trade remedy laws. While these offices cannot replace formal legal assistance, they can reduce the burdens and costs on SMEs prior to filing a petition.

According to the DOC performance indicators, ITA staff conducted over 1,000 anti-dumping and countervailing duty petition counseling sessions in 2017 – even though the department had only planned to conduct approximately 298 sessions that year. Since demand from small businesses for trade relief tools is high, I would strongly encourage you to direct Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross to continue to prioritize this section – but not at the expense of other critical resources within or outside of the department.

Increasing funding at America’s primary trade enforcement agencies, and making sure that the voices of our small business are well represented at these agencies, is of the upmost importance in a globalized world. Thank you for your consideration.

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