Democrats urge Bush to take more WTO action against trade barriers

Democrats urge Bush to take more WTO action against trade barriers    In a strongly worded letter Thursday, House Democrats asked the Bush administration to take action against five countries for continued trade barriers against American exports.
   The letter was sent shortly after the release the same day of the Bush administration’s National Trade Estimates report.
   “After the loss of almost 3 million manufacturing jobs since January 2001, and a growing problem of outsourcing in the services sector, it is time to stop taking inventory and time to start producing results for American workers, farmers and business,” the letter said.
   The Democrats, led by House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., want the president to direct the U.S. Trade Representative to begin immediate consultations with China, the European Union, Japan, South Korea and India, and to file within 60 days seven additional cases in the World Trade Organization (WTO) if consultations do not resolve each case.
   In specific, the Democrats’ letter pointed out European subsidies to Airbus, various Japanese and South Korean barriers to U.S. exports of autos and auto parts, India’s non-tariff barriers on textiles, India’s lack of intellectual property protections, and China’s slow implementation of WTO commitments.
   The Democrats also said that during the past three years, the Bush administration has brought less than three cases per year to the WTO, while the Clinton administration brought an average of 10 cases a year to the international trade body.
   In addition, the Democrats plan to introduce legislation to revive the so-called “Super 301” statute. This legislation would require the USTR to prioritize foreign market barriers to U.S. products and services and take action in the WTO if the problem cannot be resolved in 60 days.