Ambassador Kirk and Secretary Bryson just released this statement welcoming President Obama’s signature of an Executive Order officially launching the Interagency Trade Enforcement Center (ITEC). President Obama first announced that he would create this new trade enforcement center in his State of the Union address.
Trade enforcement has been a consistent priority of the Obama Administration. For example, we have brought cases against China in the World Trade Organization (WTO) at essentially twice the rate of the previous seven years. The ITEC will build upon this strong track record and continue to level the playing field for American workers and businesses by bringing a more aggressive “whole-of-government” approach to addressing unfair trade practices.
By increasing the resources devoted exclusively to trade enforcement, as well as leveraging existing resources more efficiently across the Administration, ITEC will significantly enhance our capabilities to challenge unfair trade practices around the world. A more level playing field will enable American exporters to create more jobs in the United States and hire more workers here at home.
As Ambassador Kirk stated earlier today, “President Obama and I have been very clear from day one that we will not hesitate to fight for every American job, every dollar worth of U.S. exports, and every chance for American producers to compete that depends on having a level playing field in global markets. As with every enforcement action, our goal here is to get real results for American exporters and support American jobs that depend on trade. The ITEC will help us do that in unprecedented ways.”
You can learn more about the ITEC from President Obama’s Executive Order.
