Trump Issues Executive Orders to Address Unfair Trade
03/31/2017 - Declaring that “the theft of American prosperity will end,” U.S. President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Friday that are intended to clamp down on unfairly traded imports.
“Thousands of factories have been stolen from our country, but these voiceless Americans now have a voice in the White House,” Trump said, according to the Bloomberg news service.
The orders initiate a study of the U.S trade deficit and will look “country by country and product by product” to assess the extent that it is caused by “cheating or inappropriate behavior,” Bloomberg reported. The other order calls for heightened enforcement of anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders.
Commenting on the orders, United States Steel Corp. issued a statement Friday saying that the action is welcomed.
“Tougher enforcement of duty collection will contribute towards the fair and level playing field that America’s steel industry has long called for. A strong domestic steel industry is at the foundation of America’s economic and national security,” the company said.
The signings come a week ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla.
But while speaking with the press about the orders on Thursday evening, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and White House National Trade Council director Peter Navarro insisted the executive orders were not intend to send a message to China, reported Politico.
“Nothing we’re saying tonight is about China,” Navarro said, according to Politico. “Let’s not make this a China story. This is a story about trade abuses.”
The orders initiate a study of the U.S trade deficit and will look “country by country and product by product” to assess the extent that it is caused by “cheating or inappropriate behavior,” Bloomberg reported. The other order calls for heightened enforcement of anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders.
Commenting on the orders, United States Steel Corp. issued a statement Friday saying that the action is welcomed.
“Tougher enforcement of duty collection will contribute towards the fair and level playing field that America’s steel industry has long called for. A strong domestic steel industry is at the foundation of America’s economic and national security,” the company said.
The signings come a week ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla.
But while speaking with the press about the orders on Thursday evening, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and White House National Trade Council director Peter Navarro insisted the executive orders were not intend to send a message to China, reported Politico.
“Nothing we’re saying tonight is about China,” Navarro said, according to Politico. “Let’s not make this a China story. This is a story about trade abuses.”
