WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and U.S. Rep. Louise M. Slaughter (D-NY) introduced new legislation today, also cosponsored by U.S. Sen. Kay R. Hagan (D-NC), that would enhance the administration’s ability to reduce foreign trade barriers to strengthen the competitiveness of American industries globally and to support our nation’s workforce. The Reciprocal Market Access Act would add ‘common sense’ reforms to the process by which goods are exchanged between the U.S. and other countries.

“For too long, our economy has limped along because of a $2 billion-a-day trade deficit,” Brown said. “To rebuild our economy and get past this recession we must take action with a new trade policy. This bill is a strong step to ensure our nation’s manufacturers can succeed in global markets. It’s critical that our trade negotiators enforce rules to ensure our industries can compete internationally. I look forward to working with Ambassador Kirk and Congress to address our trade deficit and reshape our trade policy on behalf of American workers.”

The U.S. market is widely recognized as one of the most open markets in the world. American industries, however, face significant challenges competing abroad due to non-tariff barriers (NTBs) in key markets, which unfairly limit access.

Under the current Doha negotiation process, tariff and non-tariff barriers are largely separate and self-contained, meaning that tradeoffs are tariff-for-tariff and non-tariff-for-non-tariff. The tariff-cutting negotiation process does not provide the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) the flexibility needed to exclude sectors that do not receive mutually beneficial trade concessions. As a result, a tariff can be reduced or eliminated without securing the elimination of the real barrier or barriers that deny market access to U.S. manufacturers’ exports. Eliminating the U.S. tariffs without securing elimination of NTBs is equivalent to unilateral disarmament –giving full advantage to foreign competitors, while allowing them to protect their home markets.

The Reciprocal Market Access Act would instruct U.S. trade negotiators to eliminate foreign market barriers before reducing U.S. tariffs. This bill would also provide enforcement authority to reinstate the tariff if the foreign government does not honor its commitment to remove its barriers. Without meaningful access, confidence in U.S. trade policy will continue to erode.

 “Our country is pulling itself out of a serious and long-lasting recession and we need to take smart steps in order to get this economy going in the right direction,” Slaughter said. “The best and easiest way to do that is to start by protecting American workers by ensuring that our trade policies are actually creating opportunities and allowing our manufacturing industries to tap into new markets. We must demand that our trade negotiators are firm and have clear guidelines so they can closely enforce rules and make sure that all countries play by the same rules. A level playing field is all we are asking for.”
“As we continue to work our way out of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, we must give North Carolina’s businesses and manufacturers the ability to provide their goods and services to foreign markets,” Hagan said. “In the past, North Carolina companies have faced significant barriers when trying to access these markets, and this bill goes a long way toward exposing those barriers. North Carolina companies deserve equal footing with our trading partners. Improved foreign market access will help North Carolina companies preserve and create jobs across the state.”

Brown has long advocated trade agreements that strengthen American manufacturing and ensure its competitiveness in the global marketplace.  Earlier this year, Brown also co-authored the Buy America enforcement provision included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to promote U.S. businesses and save and create jobs in accordance with free trade agreements.

Brown led the fight in Congress to reform American international trade agreements including Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). In July 2005, while serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, Brown convened the largest-ever bipartisan, bicameral coalition in opposition to CAFTA. Brown is committed to reforming these trade policies to promote economic prosperity in our nation and across the globe.

As Chairman of the U.S. Senate Banking Subcommittee on Economic Policy, Brown has held a series of hearing to address the challenges U.S. manufacturers currently face in the recession. In the fourth, which will take place tomorrow, Brown will investigate how to restore credit to the industry, which has been hard-hit by the crisis. Earlier this year, Brown outlined five key areas of focus to shape a domestic manufacturing policy in a hearing entitled “The U.S. as Global Competitor: What Are the Elements of a National Manufacturing Strategy.”

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