The Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) lauded today’s U.S. Senate passage of the conference report to H.R. 644, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015. The U.S. House of Representatives approved the conference report in December, so it will now be sent to President Obama for his signature.
Among the provisions included in the bill are steps to modernize the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency, streamlined trade rules that intend to prevent importers from evading antidumping and countervailing duties, new protections for intellectual property rights, and additional tools to identify and address currency manipulation.
SMA President Philip K. Bell said, “I am pleased that the Senate has passed this long overdue legislation. Of particular importance to SMA members are provisions that address the growing and injurious practice engaged in by foreign competitors who seek to evade U.S. antidumping and countervailing duties, oftentimes by transshipping products through a third country and/or misclassifying the true origin of imports entering the United States,” said Bell.
“Rampant duty evasion undermines the impact of trade cases, thereby harming the domestic industry and its workforce. The passage of this legislation is an important step in ensuring that duties are collected and our nation’s trade laws are enforced,” said Bell.