Gallego, Ricketts to Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Bolster U.S. Competition Against China

WASHINGTON – Senators Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Pete Ricketts (R-NE) will introduce the China Subsidy Response and Export Competitiveness Act , bipartisan legislation to strengthen the China and Transformational Exports Program (CTEP) . CTEP is a mandate for the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) to help U.S. exporters facing competition from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and ensure the U.S. continues to lead in transformational export areas. “Over the past two decades, Arizona has lost nearly 66,000 manufacturing jobs to China, fueled by China’s trade cheating and unfair subsidies,” said Senator Gallego . “We need to level the playing field. By making the China and Transformational Exports Program more competitive and more flexible, this bill helps get us there.” “Communist China doesn’t compete fairly. It cheats by subsidizing its industries to undercut American companies and corner critical supply chains,” said Senator Ricketts. “This bill gives the Export-Import Bank the tools to fight back. When Americans compete on a level playing field, they win. The China Subsidy Response and Export Competitiveness Act will protect America’s jobs and our national security.” Specifically, the China Subsidy Response and Export Competitiveness Act would: Give EXIM more flexibility to address concerns that the PRC can subsidize their competing goods and services not only through export credits but also through domestic credits and other financial assistance. Add medical manufacturing as a new transformational export area to revitalize domestic medical manufacturing, help bring down prices, and build more resilient medical supply chains. Add printed circuit boards to the semiconductor transformational export areas to counter U.S. dependence on overseas providers, particularly China, which now produces over half of the world’s circuit boards. Find the full text of the legislation HERE . Senator Gallego is a champion for trade policies that protect workers, consumers, and small businesses while growing our economy. In March, Senator Gallego sent a letter to President Trump and Trade Representative Greer laying out his priorities in USMCA renegotiations, including updating rules of origin requirements, improving labor standards and enforcement, setting a minimum wage, ensuring robust funding for the Bureau of International Labor Affairs, and investing in border community infrastructure. He also backs the Leveling the Playing Field 2.0 Act to push back against China’s anti-free market practices by providing the Department of Commerce with more tools to crack down on unfair trade practices that hurt American workers and businesses.