Customs Bill Fails to Address Currency Manipulation & Human Trafficking

In a letter to members of Congress, CWA expressed strong opposition to the customs reauthorization bill moving forward in Congress, noting that the bill "is littered with troubling provisions that will actually hinder efforts to formulate a better trade policy that benefits American workers."

The House is expected to vote on the legislation this week.

In particular, the letter notes that the legislation fails to sufficiently address concerns about job-killing currency manipulation and strips out stronger currency language originally in the Senate bill in favor of language that is "simply lip service" on the issue and would lack true enforcement.

The letter highlights a troubling provision regarding human trafficking, language that will "make it much easier for countries with atrocious records of human trafficking, such as Thailand, to join trade agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership before we have seen sustained evidence that their governments are improving their efforts."

The customs bill is another reminder of why the push for the TPP trade deal is a bad deal for American workers and key progressive priorities. Earlier this year, "fast track" trade authority passed Congress without much room to spare – just five votes in the House would have flipped the outcome.

In order to pass fast track and keep the prospects alive for the TPP, House Republican leadership made a series of concessions and promises to right-wing Members of Congress by adding an array of harmful provisions to this separate customs reauthorization bill. Even after the conference committee with the Senate, these troubling provisions remain in the legislation.