{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://sewell.house.gov/2021/12/reps-sewell-johnson-introduce-bipartisan-legislation-level-playing-field", "Reps. Sewell, Johnson Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Level the Playing Field for American Workers", "2021-12-02", "2021", "2021-12", "Democrat", "House", "AL", "Terri A. Sewell", "S001185", "sewell.house.gov", "sewell", "https://sewell.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Reps. Terri Sewell (AL-07) and Bill Johnson (OH-06) introduced bipartisan legislation to level the playing field for American workers. The Level the Playing Field Act 2.0 would strengthen U.S. trade remedy laws to protect American workers and combat China\u2019s unfair, anti-free market trade practices that distort the global market.\n\n\u201cProtecting American workers and countering China\u2019s unfair trade practices must be central pillars of U.S. trade policy,\u201d said Rep. Sewell. \u201cMy Level the Playing Field Act 2.0 will support America\u2019s workers by strengthening our trade remedy laws and promoting fair competition by pushing back against China\u2019s egregious efforts to manipulate the global market in their favor. I\u2019m proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation with Congressman Bill Johnson and urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to give it their full support!\u201d\n\n\u201cFor far too long, China and its communist regime have taken deliberate steps to hurt American workers and the American economy by dumping steel, aluminum, and other products on the global markets with no repercussions. That must end,\u201d said Rep. Bill Johnson, lead Republican co-sponsor. \u201cThis bipartisan legislation will hold China accountable for these actions by ensuring that U.S. industries and the Department of Commerce have the tools needed to seek relief from China\u2019s actions. A robust domestic steel and aluminum industry is critical to repairing America\u2019s aging infrastructure and creating American jobs, the American economy, and American national security. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House and Senate to ensure this bipartisan bill becomes law.\u201d\n\nThe bill is designed to combat many of China\u2019s most egregious practices, such as:\n\nCountry Hopping to Escape U.S. Trade Remedies - After all the work of winning an anti-dumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) case, relief can be temporary as foreign producers move their factories to other countries to evade the AD/CVD orders. Title I of this legislation creates a new successive AD/CVD investigation to combat repeat offenders by making it easier for petitioners to bring new cases when production moves to another country. Title II outlines expedited timelines for successive investigations and factors for the International Trade Commission to consider about the relationship between recently completed trade cases and successive trade cases for the same imported product.\n\nBelt and Road Initiative Subsidies - Currently, the Department of Commerce can only consider subsidies provided by the government under investigation. However, with the expansion of China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative, China is beginning to subsidize production in countries outside of China. Section 201 of this legislation would give Commerce the authority to apply CVD law to subsidies provided by a government to a company operating in a different country.\n\nCircumventing U.S. Law - Section 301 of this legislation imposes statutory requirements for anti-circumvention inquiries to clarify the process and timeline. It also specifies the deadlines for preliminary and final determinations, which currently lack statutory deadlines.\n\nThe Level the Playing Field Act 2.0 enjoys strong support from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), the United Steelworkers, and steel manufacturers in Alabama.\n\n\u201cThis legislation will strengthen the effectiveness of the U.S. trade laws and will give American workers the confidence that their government has every potential tool available to fight for a level playing field against foreign competitors that seek to cheat the system,\u201d said Kevin Dempsey, President and CEO of AISI. \u201cThe domestic steel industry appreciates the leadership of Congresswoman Sewell in introducing this critical legislation, which is a companion piece to the bipartisan measure introduced earlier this year by Senators Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman. We urge both Republicans and Democrats to support this crucial bill.\u201d\n\nSens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Rob Portman (R-OH) introduced companion legislation in the Senate.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:37:48Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://sewell.house.gov/2021/12/reps-sewell-johnson-introduce-bipartisan-legislation-level-playing-field"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8753410074859858, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}