Trade Enforcement Alliance Wants End of Non-Resident Importers
The Industry Alliance for Trade EnforcementNOW, a new coalition, is asking the administration and Congress to make changes in trade enforcement to aid domestic manufacturers.
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Their requests include:
- launch a public enforcement scorecard by Jan. 15 next year, including trade fraud cases charged, dollars recovered and prison sentences imposed under the Trade Fraud Task Force, EAPA or the False Claims Act
- pass the Protecting American Industry and Labor Act (PAIL), which would codify inter-agency coordination on trade crime and give a Trade Crime Unit $20 million annually
- pass the Fighting the Trade Cheats Act, which would create a private right of action for companies covered by antidumping and countervailing duty orders
- pass the Manifest Modernization Act, which would apply the same transparency standards to ocean, air, truck, rail and express shipments "so watchdogs, journalists, and agencies can spot suspicious patterns sooner"
- end non-resident importer authorization, and require that either importers be U.S. domiciled, or that U.S. consignees have joint liability.
“We’ve all fought this fight alone -- and hit the same walls. It is a frightening and lonely place to be for our companies and our workers,” said David Rashid, executive chairman of Plews & Edelmann. "This Alliance exists to shine a light on the fail points, give law-abiding companies a voice, and push for immediate, practical improvements to the way enforcement is handled."
The Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association is one of the members of the new alliance. CEO Betsy Natz said, "Without immediate and aggressive action, American jobs and businesses will continue to disappear."