Committee to Support US Trade Laws Says DOGE Firings Foolish for ITC, Commerce, DHS
The Committee to Support U.S. Trade Laws asked leaders at DHS, the Commerce Department, the International Trade Commission and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to protect recent hires who have been targeted for dismissal by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
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The committee, a national organization that represents 429 companies and trade groups, argued that with last year's increase in trade remedy petitions -- about double the 10-year average -- the International Trade Administration's and ITC's ability to effectively enforce these laws is "already strained."
"If the reductions in force are fully implemented, up to 60% of the staff dedicated to the enforcement of the laws central to the President's America First Trade Policy will be eliminated," the committee projected.
The group's letters, sent Feb. 17, said that the increase in Section 232 tariffs is expected to bring in an additional $53.7 billion in the next decade. "But these funds will not be fully collected unless the appropriate agencies are fully staffed," they argued.