WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, U.S. Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced the bipartisan Fighting Trade Cheats Act, which would strengthen U.S. trade law enforcement and give American manufacturers the opportunity to take action against bad actors that engage in customs fraud. 

The bill takes aim at companies that dump foreign-made goods into the United States and would allow private companies to sue foreign producers that harm American companies. By allowing private companies harmed by trade cheats to use their own resources to fight back, the bill would help address customs fraud and protect American workers and American jobs.   

“The Chinese Communist Party has a long history of violating trade agreements with the United States, costing North Carolina businesses and workers,” said Senator Tillis. “I’m proud to co-introduce this bipartisan legislation to hold the CCP and other bad actors accountable and empower private American companies to take action and fight back against trade cheats.”

American businesses including Charlotte Pipe and Foundry, a family-owned North Carolina company that manufactures cast iron, PVC, CPVC, and ABS pipe and fittings, support the bipartisan legislation.

“This anti-circumvention trade legislation is critical to holding Chinese and other bad actors accountable when it comes to enforcing lawful dumping and subsidy duties,” said Roddey Dowd, Jr., vice chairman of Charlotte Pipe and Foundry Company. “For too long importers have evaded rightful measures to level the playing field for American manufacturers. We applaud Senator Tillis and Senator Brown for working across the aisle to generate bipartisan support for a measure that will help stop those who would cheat American workers and consumers. U.S. manufacturing needs Congress to provide it the tools to defend itself from foreign trade cheaters, which this bill clearly does.”

Full text of the legislation can be found here.

###