CPA Applauds Introduction of Bipartisan International Trade Crimes Legislation

WASHINGTON — The Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) today applauded Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), the leaders of the House Select Committee on the CCP, and Congresswoman Ashely Hinson (R-IA) for introducing the bipartisan Protecting American Industry and Labor from International Trade Crimes Act of 2024. This bipartisan legislation aims to combat international trade crimes by directing the Department of Justice (DOJ) to establish a new structure dedicated to prosecuting international trade crimes. This will enhance U.S. capabilities for detecting, investigating, and prosecuting trade fraud, duty evasion, transshipment, and other trade-related crimes. 

Companies based in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) frequently commit crimes violating U.S. trade laws including fraud, duty evasion, and transshipment which benefit the PRC’s non-market economy and undermine U.S. companies and workers. Countless Americans have lost their jobs due to this criminal activity. Despite the large volume of trade crime-related cases, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has under-resourced its prosecution of these crimes.

Last year, former House Select Committee on the CCP Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and committee member Representative Darin LaHood (R-IL) urged Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to take action against Qingdao Sunsong– a Chinese auto component manufacturer with a pattern of blatant trade fraud and tariff evasion that has had a catastrophic impact on American manufacturers. In January, DHS raided the facility of Sunsong’s Ohio-based U.S. subsidiary, further highlighting the Chinese company’s coordinated effort to evade trade rules by falsifying the origin of their Chinese-made products through transshipment.

“Right now, CPA member companies are forced to compete with Chinese and other foreign entities that are committing trade fraud and other criminal activities that are directly harming U.S. producers and American workers,” said Michael Stumo, CEO of CPA. “Earlier this year, DHS raided Sunsong North America in Moraine, Ohio, the U.S. subsidiary of China’s Qingdao Sunsong, an automobile parts manufacturer that is currently under investigation by federal authorities for trade fraud. This underscores the urgent need for the Department of Justice to have enhanced authority and resources to prosecute international trade crimes effectively, thereby protecting American manufacturers and workers from malicious foreign entities intent on displacing them. Congress should swiftly pass this bipartisan legislation.”

According to a CPA analysis, Sunsong generates approximately 40% of its revenue from U.S. sources – with three of its top five global customers being GM, O’Reilly Auto Parts and AutoZone. While Sunsong’s penetration into the U.S. Tier One industry has been relatively static since its market entry with the acquisition of Harco, Sunsong’s impact on the local auto aftermarket has been significant. Its growth has been fast, a common pattern for Chinese companies in the auto aftermarket where less formal barriers to entry exist.

Original co-sponsors of this bill include House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY), House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), as well as Representatives Darin LaHood (R-IL), Glenn Ivey (D-LA), Nate Moran (R-TX), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Ben Cline (R-VA), Haley Stevens (D-MI), Kevin Kiley (R-CA), Deborah Ross (D-NC), and Lou Correa (D-CA).