Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. KILDEE. Madam Chair, my amendment would ensure that the Interagency Trade Enforcement Center under the International Trade Administration's budget is funded at this President's requested level of $15 million by moving $10 million from NASA's $4.2 billion exploration fund, which is funded $191 million above the President's request.

Here is the problem: Mr. Peters and I, who offer this amendment, represent the State of Michigan, but I assume this problem, the problem of access to markets across the globe for American products, is one that other Members in this body experience on a regular basis and hear about all the time.

We may disagree, and I suspect that we would disagree on the elements of our trade policy and particularly the elements in form that many of the trade agreements that this country enters into with other Nations.

In fact, there is a debate brewing now over the extent to which we continue to expand those international trade agreements, but the one thing we ought not to disagree on is whether or not we enforce the existing structures that are in place and ensure that American-made products have access to markets that should be open to us and, under existing agreements, would be open to us if we had the strength and the resources to enforce those agreements the way they ought to be enforced, and this is having a real effect.

I represent Michigan, as I said, and the auto sector particularly has suffered greatly as a result of trade practices. Just recently, as a matter of fact, the WTO sided with the U.S. in a dispute with China on duties it imposes on imported American vehicles, duties ranging from 2 percent to 21.5 percent, affecting two-thirds of the $8.5 billion worth of American vehicles that are sold into that market.

This amendment would ensure that there are adequate resources to ensure that we enforce existing trade policy. American workers and companies are harmed when other countries are allowed to use unfair trade policies unfettered.

This amendment would ensure that the Interagency Trade Enforcement Center has the necessary resources to go after unfair trade barriers. It sends a strong message to the world that: If you violate global trade laws, the rules will be enforced and that there will be consequences for bad behavior.

American workers deserve this. American companies deserve this. We should stand strong. This amendment would make sure that the resources are available to do just that.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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