Experts Weigh Options to Limit China’s Unfair Trade Profits

WASHINGTON—Veteran trade officials this week weighed a proposal from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) to give the U.S. International Trade Commission authority under Section 337 of the 1930 Tariff Act to bar imports from companies that are systematically supported by unfair trade practices in non-market, non-rule-of-law economies such as China.

ITIF hosted an expert briefing event Monday on Capitol Hill, where ITIF President Robert D. Atkinson presented a new report detailing the proposal. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) delivered keynote remarks and a panel of trade policy experts discussed U.S. policy options as China employs unfair trade practices to gain market share in strategically important industries at the expense of the United States and its allies. Speakers included former U.S. trade officials Wendy Cutler, Meredith Broadbent, and Gilbert Kaplan.

A video recording and audio transcript of the event are available on ITIF’s website. The event also aired on C-SPAN and has been covered widely in the press and commented on by other trade policy stakeholders and observers:

• Bloomberg Law: “US Urged to Bolster Trade Arsenal to Fight China ‘Predation’”
• POLITICO: “A New Way to Fight Chinese Imports”
• Inside U.S. Trade: “Report: Section 337—with revisions—could address unfair Chinese trade practices”
• Law360: “Think Tank Calls For Restrictions On Chinese Imports”
• ST&R Trade Report: “Expand Unfair Import Law to Better Target China, Report Urges”
• Alliance for American Manufacturing: “The U.S. Has Failed to Stop ‘China’s Industrial Predication.’ Could Reforming a 1930 Trade Law Change That?”

For further information or to arrange an interview about ITIF’s proposal or the briefing event, please contact Riley Nelson: [email protected].