Senate panel probes use of trade protections under ENFORCE Act

Citing the practice of countries illegally importing goods by transhipping them through other countries, U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) called on U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Wednesday to use existing tools to crack down on illegal trade.

Portman urged CBP Administrator Kevin McAleenan to use processes available under the ENFORCE Act that allow domestic producers to petition CBP to investigate potential antidumping and countervailing duty protections during a U.S. Senate Finance Committee hearing.

Portman said he believes there are opportunities to use administrative protection orders to coordinate information sharing among interested parties under the ENFORCE Act, much like the International Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Commerce currently do.

“I strongly believe that there’s an opportunity to apply that here to the ENFORCE Act,” Portman said. “I’ve heard from a lot of stakeholders about this; they want this process at CBP because they understand how useful it can be.”

McAleenan testified that using the administrative protective order process is “something we have looked at.” He also expressed willingness to talk to Congress about it but added that they do not have the authority or resources to implement it.

“Another way we can improve the ENFORCE Act would be to allow petitioners to file allegations when the importer is not known because that’s the case sometimes,” Portman said. “They see innovation coming; they’re tracking prices, market dynamics. They know it’s happening, they’re just not sure who’s doing it.”

Portman and McAleenan agreed that ENFORCE Act processes should allow people to file claims — through an administrative protective order or another confidential means — without knowing the importer.