Brown, Wyden back push for green trade case against China

Several Capitol Hill Democrats on Thursday backed the United Steelworkers’ petition for a federal probe of China’s green energy trade practices that the union calls a collection of illegal subsidies.

The union wants an inquiry that leads to the Obama administration bringing World Trade Organization complaints against China.

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), an ally of labor unions, urged the Obama administration to “work without delay alongside workers and businesses to challenge China’s trade practices at the WTO.”

“If we are going to compete in the global clean-energy manufacturing industry, we need strong trade enforcement. Every day we delay enforcing trade rules, China spends $51 million a day to speed past us in the race to lead the world in clean-energy manufacturing, while elbowing competition out of the way through unfair subsidies and discriminatory tactics,” he said.

The union filed a petition with the United States Trade Representative (USTR) alleging that China’s subsidies are freezing foreign companies out of the growing renewable energy market, and giving the country an unfair edge in the production and export of vital components.

The steelworkers are seeking an inquiry that would lead the Obama administration to file a WTO complaint to pare back the Chinese support for its domestic companies.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) urged U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk to “carefully consider” the allegations.

“The adoption of clean-energy technology provides the opportunity for the United States to be energy-independent and support millions of new jobs, but this can only happen if the Obama administration effectively combats China's unfair trade practices,” said Wyden, who leads a Senate Finance Committee panel on international trade.

USTR declined to comment on the substance of the filing. “USTR will review the petition in accordance with established procedures. USTR will make a decision on whether to initiate a Section 301 investigation in response to the petition within 45 days of the date of filing,” said spokeswoman Nefeterius Akeli McPherson.

Steelworkers’ President Leo Gerard told reporters on a conference call that he expected a substantial amount of Capitol Hill backing for the petition. “I would suspect that many of them will be pleased and supportive of what we are doing,” he said.