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Enforcing Trade Laws to Boost Exports and Support Ohio
Businesses
By U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown
Guest Column
When I travel across Ohio, I hear from business owners who
have successfully expanded their companies, created jobs,
and sold their products in foreign markets. In 2013, Ohio
exports totaled a record-breaking $50.8 billion. To quantify
that, every $1 billion in exports supports nearly 5,000
domestic jobs. And in Ohio, more than one quarter of our
state’s manufacturing jobs rely on exports.
Last week, I joined United States Trade Representative
Michael Froman in a visit to Jet, Incorporated; a small
business in Cleveland that is creating jobs by designing,
manufacturing, and exporting innovative wastewater treatment
systems to 33 countries all over the world. Exports comprise
more than 20 percent of Jet’s sales and, in 2012, the
company received the President’s “E” Award for making a
significant contribution to the expansion of U.S. exports.
Companies like Jet, Inc. are the reason that U.S. exports
reached $2.3 trillion in 2013, a new record for a fourth
straight year.
Last month, Congress agreed on a short-term reauthorization
for the Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank). This important
entity, which offers loans, guarantees, and insurance for
American businesses seeking to export their products, will
now be funded through June 30, 2015. While I’m relieved
funding did not lapse for the Ex-Im Bank, I am worried that
this short-term reauthorization will create uncertainty for
Ohio businesses who are looking to sell goods overseas. Our
foreign competitors in Europe and Asia know that their
versions of Ex-Im Bank will be there for them. We need to
provide our businesses with the same certainty. That’s why
I plan to work with my Senate colleagues on a long-term
solution for the Ex-Im Bank when Congress reconvenes.
In addition to boosting American exports, we need to address
unfair foreign imports made in countries that violate
international trade law. When countries undervalue their
currency or flood the market with underpriced goods, it is
Ohio workers and suppliers who pay the price.
In July, I went before the International Trade Commission
(ITC) on behalf of Ohio’s steel tube workers and businesses,
testifying that the influx of cheap foreign Oil Country
Tubular Goods (OCTG) hurt the competiveness of Ohio
manufacturers and threatened the jobs of their workers.
Because foreign countries were pricing their OCTG below
market value, an unfair and illegal trade practice, American
companies were being shut out. In August, the ITC ruled that
six countries had illegally “dumped” their goods in the U.S.
market and levied trade tariffs against the offending
countries.
Supporting Ohio’s workers and suppliers requires a
commitment to trade enforcement and export strategies. Trade
enforcement means ensuring a level playing field for Ohio
manufacturers by defending them from unfair trade practices,
and supporting export strategies means creating and
maintaining jobs for manufacturing communities across the
state and nation. By supporting the Ex-Im Bank and enforcing
our nation’s trade laws, we can help Ohio businesses explore
new markets and new opportunities.
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