Obama signs countervailing duty legislation

   President Obama on Tuesday signed legislation that clarifies the Commerce Department’s ability to apply countervailing duties on subsidized imports from non-market economies, including China.
   “This administration is committed to ensuring that American companies can compete—and win—in the global marketplace, and that includes protection from unfair trade subsidies,” said Commerce Secretary John Bryson, in a statement. “We are making progress—data released yesterday shows that jobs supported by U.S. exports increased by 1.2 million between 2009 and 2011—but we must keep building on this momentum to sell products proudly stamped ‘Made in America’ all around the world.”
   “From the creation of the Interagency Trade Enforcement Center, to the signing of this law, to the filing (Tuesday) of a new case challenging China’s unfair trade practices, the preservation of American jobs through strong trade enforcement continues to be a top priority for the Obama administration as it has been from day one,” added U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk. “We intend to ensure that our nation’s producers and workers have the opportunity to compete on a level playing field with all of our trading partners.”
   In December 2011, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found in GPX v. United States that U.S. law prohibits the Commerce Department from applying countervailing duties to non-market economies like China. This legislation overturns that court decision.