Congressman Mike Turner (OH-3) submitted the following statement and questions for the record to Secretary of Commerce John Bryson. Bryson appeared before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies for a hearing on trade enforcement funding for Fiscal Year 2013.
Turner has introduced the Trade Law Enforcement Act (H.R. 3112), which offers an additional way for U.S. companies to have the United States Trade Representative (USTR) act on market access barriers that may be unlawful under any U.S. trade agreement. Currently, U.S. companies face many non-tariff barriers (NTB’s) including onerous labeling requirements, discretionary customs valuation criteria and lack of protection for intellectual property. Because of its cost and complexity, the process of petitioning USTR for assistance with NTB’s that companies believe are unlawful under a trade agreement, is simply not feasible.
Congressman Turner's Full Statement and Questions Can Be Found Here.
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