Letter to James Kearns, Chair, Randolph Stayin, Vice Chair of the US International Trade Commission - Brown, Portman Urge U.s. International Trade Commission to Enforce U.s. Trade Remedy Law as It Relates to Russia

Press Release

Dear Chair Kearns and Vice-Chair Stayin:

We write to urge the U.S. International Trade Commission to assertively enforce U.S. trade remedy law as it relates to Russia.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine aims an arrow at the heart of the international order, and represents the greatest threat to peace and stability in Europe since World War II. Moreover, this invasion--of a sovereign democracy, no less--portends Russia's larger ambitions to reestablish hegemony over Eastern Europe. The United States and its allies are rightly responding with broad, coordinated trade sanctions against Russia, both to deter further aggression, and to ensure that the United States not strengthen Russia's economy, which is the engine of that aggression.

Similar to China, Russia is a systematic abuser of international trade rules. Russia has used trade as a weapon to coerce its neighbors, taking advantage of the dependence other countries have on its exports. Moreover, Russia's economy is dominated by the government. According to Russian government sources, the state's share of the economy may be as high as 70 percent. And just a few months ago, in December 2021, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative found that Russia has "continued its trajectory of an economy moving away from the guiding principles of the WTO."

In import injury investigations, the Commission is required to consider "all relevant economic factors which have a bearing on the state of the industry in the United States." Given Russia's scofflaw behavior, including its manipulation of trade flows in pursuit of malign strategic objectives and exceptional involvement of the state in the domestic economy, we ask the Commission to take into account these factors in cases involving Russia. It is important for the Commission to ensure full enforcement of our trade remedy laws, giving full weight to the issues discussed above.

We thank you for your consideration of our request.

Sincerely,

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