Senate Passes Trade Act of 2021: What Gives?

     Senators in our Congress passed a bill that reduces the effectiveness of efforts to rein in China's goal of stifling the US economy.  Former US Trade representative and ambassador Robert Lighthizer wrote an insightful article describing the elements of the Senate bill which will now go the the House of Representatives for review.  Essentially,  the bill guts recent past legislative efforts to confront China's state-run enterprises and also to limit the ability of China to steal trade secrets and force American companies to give proprietary industrial information to the Chinese government as the price of doing business in China(see Apple's recent decision to form a Chinese company in order to evade this trade law).

      Mr. Lighthizer skillfully guides the reader through the various mechinations of the Senate bill to illuminate its goals: a reduction in over 2,300 tariffs on Chinese goods and products that unfairly compete in the US with domestic business and production.  The Trade Act of 2021 would resurrect the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill to cut the tariffs. It is an amendment, and cleverly designed to flip the original goals.  Senators, again, have fallen for all the usual arguments put forth by the likes of Beltway Bandits, aka the hyenas and jackals we politely call corporate lobbyists.  It has been apparent for decades that these scumbags, hired to pitch the programs of large corporations are nothing more than shills whose purposes are to promote profits at the expense of consumers and competitors.

       President Joe Biden praised the Senate's efforts which will now go to the House.  Hopefully, in Mr. Lighthizer's view, the House will send it back to the Senate for further consideration and review.  In these times, it must be recognized at all levels of government that China is not our friend, doesn't want our friendship, and will continue to abuse human rights at home and around the world(see Hong Kong).

      The most egregious aspect of the Trade Act of 2021 is the provision that gives US trade policy over to the World Trade Org.(WTO).  China has been a member for almost 20 years and continues to violate many of the policies of the group.  We should not do this.

     Write to Senators Feinstein and Padilla, tell them to cancel the bill.