Tough Trade Enforcement Supports Jobs for American Workers

Every day, the Obama Administration is working to enforce America’s rights in the international trading system – to keep our workers on a level playing field in global markets, and ultimately create and sustain American jobs.

Over the past year, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has stepped up enforcement of our trade agreements using a range of options from negotiation to taking disputes to the World Trade Organization.  These enforcement actions have helped workers in sectors ranging from agriculture to auto parts, from aluminum and steel manufacturing to aerospace construction. 

Because President Obama took action to stem the tide of imported Chinese tires flooding the U.S. market, moms and dads are bringing home paychecks from tire factories in North Carolina and Arkansas.  Because USTR successfully challenged Chinese industrial policy that pushed American auto parts suppliers to move production facilities offshore, men and women in Ohio and Michigan are still working on assembly lines.  And because we took the European Union to court and won, the jobs of thousands of U.S. aerospace engineers and electricians in Washington State, Kansas, and South Carolina are more secure.   And more American workers, from welders to widget-makers, will have a chance at future jobs on a more level playing field.

We are taking these actions because our trade agreements affirm the rights of American workers and businesses to compete in a system of rules that applies equally to all of our trading partners.

We insist on fair play because we are confident that American workers and businesses can compete – and win – in a global market. As the President has said, “When the playing field is even, nobody can beat us.”  And we can’t afford to leave any jobs on the table.

Today I’m looking forward to speaking with manufacturing workers in Pennsylvania about how USTR’s trade enforcement efforts can help them succeed.  This morning I will speak at Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (ATI), a specialty metals manufacturer that uses innovative technologies and systems to supply customers around the world with state-of-the-art industrial materials. 

My speech will provide an update on how this Administration is using every option available in the trade enforcement playbook to help sustain jobs here in America.  I will also discuss how the Obama Administration combines tough trade enforcement and smart trade expansion, contributing to President Obama’s National Export Initiative and helping the overall economic recovery. And you can watch it live here.

At USTR and across the Obama Administration, we’re fighting every day to restore the American people’s trust in the fact that when it’s done right, trade can work for you. 

Ambassador Ron Kirk is the United States Trade Representative