{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.merkley.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/?id=ce966d5e-a174-4d22-8dfe-e933103dd9ea", "Merkley, Baldwin Introduce Legislation to Level the Playing Field for American Manufacturing", "2013-12-11", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "OR", "Jeff Merkley", "M001176", "www.merkley.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Merkley, Baldwin Introduce Legislation to Level the Playing Field for American Manufacturing \n\t\n\t\t Legislation Would Help American Manufacturers Compete on Global Playing Field Against Countries With Low Environmental and Wage Standards \n\t\n\t\n\tWednesday, December 11, 2013\n\t\n\tWASHINGTON \u2013 Today, Oregon\u2019s Senator Jeff Merkley and Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced new legislation that would crack down on unfair trade practices, level the playing field for American manufacturing companies, and help create middle class jobs.\u00a0\r\nThe Level the Playing Field in Global Trade Act would ensure that sub-standard wages, workplace safety practices, and environmental protections are properly accounted for as unfair subsidies by foreign countries when calculating American duties intended to offset cheating. It also rewards companies that meet high standards on a global basis in wages, workplace safety and environmental compliance with streamlined trade and protection from enforcement actions.\u00a0\r\n \r\n\u201cFor far too long, Oregon\u2019s manufacturers and workers have paid the price while companies overseas cut costs by cutting corners.\u00a0These foreign companies should not be allow to gain an advantage over American businesses by treating their workers poorly and polluting their environment,\u201d said Merkley.\u00a0 \u201cIf we don\u2019t make things in America, we won\u2019t have a middle class in America. Oregon\u2019s manufacturers can compete with anyone in a fair fight, and it\u2019s time that they had a level playing field to help them grow and create good jobs in Oregon.\u201d\r\n \r\n \r\n\u201cEven as the national economy is rebounding, businesses and middle-class families in my state remain stuck in neutral.\u00a0 The manufacturing sector that sustained our prosperity for generations has taken a lot of hits so I\u2019ve made it my mission to create a \u201cMade in Wisconsin\u201d economy that revitalizes our manufacturing sector and rebuilds our prosperity,\u201d Baldwin said. \u201cIn Wisconsin, we believe in hard work and have a commitment to make sure that it is respected and rewarded. For decades, we\u2019ve worked to make things: paper, engines, tools, and ships. Give our workers a fair shot, and we\u2019ll compete against anyone.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I\u2019m taking on unfair trade practices and policies and betting on American workers by creating an even playing field and giving them a fair shot to compete and win.\u201d\r\n \r\nIn the past decade, countries like China have reaped the benefits of trade deals without upholding their end of the bargain. This lack of accountability has contributed to the shuttering of tens of thousands of American factories and the loss of millions of American manufacturing jobs.\r\nCurrently, U.S. companies and workers are at a trade disadvantage against companies and countries that do not pay adequate wages or maintain safety standards and environmental controls.\u00a0 This results in countries and companies engaging in a \u201crace to the bottom,\u201d which puts U.S. manufacturing jobs at risk and is fundamentally unfair to American working families.\u00a0 As the recent scandal in Bangladesh made clear, it\u2019s also terribly destructive to workers around the world.\u00a0\r\nCurrent American law and trade agreements prohibit \u201cdumping\u201d of products, where companies export products at prices below the cost of production or cheaper than they sell for in the home country, and allow the U.S. to impose duties to make the sale price in America reflect what the true cost would be without cheating.\u00a0 The Level the Playing Field in Global Trade Act would, for the first time, recognize that egregious environmental and labor practices are a form of illegal subsidy that can be remedied by U.S. duties. It would also reward companies that adhere to high global standards by creating new trade and enforcement incentives.\r\n###\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n    \n    \n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n     \n\t\n \n\t\n    \n    \n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t  \n    \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n    \n    \n      \n    \n    \n    \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t  \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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://www.merkley.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/?id=ce966d5e-a174-4d22-8dfe-e933103dd9ea"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.8174657598137856, "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"}