AEC urges U.S. Senate to take up vote on important Trade Enforcement Bill

The Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC) commends the U.S. House of Representatives for supporting American manufacturing by voting to approve the conference report to H.R. 644, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015. AEC has asked the U.S. Senate take up this important issue and approve the bill when it comes to the floor, which is likely to happen this week.

The final conference report creates new procedures at U.S. Customs and Border Protection to effectively address the evasion of antidumping and countervailing duty orders within set deadlines. “The relief our industry has enjoyed from unfairly traded Chinese imports has been threatened by the efforts of Chinese producers like Zhongwang and others to circumvent and evade duties,” said Jeff Henderson, AEC Director of Operations and director of the AEC Fair Trade Committee. “U.S. aluminum extruders have received solicitations from overseas Chinese companies offering their services to circumvent or evade the antidumping and countervailing duties. Passing this legislation sends a clear message that the United States is going to hold our trading partners accountable.”

The Aluminum Extruders Council's position remains that it is in favor of free and fair trade worldwide. The enforcement of antidumping and countervailing duty orders is critical to continuing to ensure a level playing field and maintaining trust in U.S. trade agreements.