Key House Committee Advances Bill Establishing New Trade Crimes Unit at the Justice Department

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The bipartisan legislation creates a special task force charged with investigating and prosecuting trade crimes, along with new resources to support this important work.

Coming this fall to NBC: Law and Order: Trade Crimes Unit.

O.K., that's a just little joke from all of us here who have binged Dick Wolf-produced programming over the years. What is actually happening is that bipartisan legislation to establish a new trade crimes unit at the Department of Justice (DOJ) took a big step forward to becoming law on Wednesday.

The Protecting American Industry and Labor from International Trade Crimes Act unanimously passed the House Judiciary Committee. Introduced by Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Chairman John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) and Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa), the bill would create a new structure within DOJ to investigate and prosecute trade crimes and provide training and financial assistance for law enforcement at the local, state and federal level to take on this important work. The Attorney General also would be required to provide an annual report to Congress on these efforts.

Members say this new unit will aim to play a critical role in addressing China's continuous violation of U.S. trade laws, including duty evasion and transshipment. The bill is one of the pieces of policy the Select Committee on the CCP recommended last year that Congress pass to take on China's bad trade practices, which have led to the millions of lost U.S. jobs and undermine American companies, including manufacturers.

"Communist China has blatantly violated U.S. trade laws and ripped off American workers without consequences for too long, gutting rural manufacturing towns and enabling CCP forced labor," Hinson said. "This bipartisan bill will ensure we finally crack down on Communist China's illicit trade practices so that we can reshore American manufacturing."

Other Members sponsoring the legislation include Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Darin LaHood (R-Ill.), Glenn Ivey (D-La.), Nate Moran (R-Texas), Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), Ben Cline (R-Va.), Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.), Deborah Ross (D-N.C.), and Lou Correa (D-Calif.).

The Alliance for American Manufacturing also offered our support for the legislation when it was introduced earlier this year, with AAM President Scott Paul saying it "rightly prioritizes the prosecution of trade crimes and is both sorely needed and long overdue."

"Customs fraud and other trade crimes are pernicious in their reach, harming domestic industries, destroying jobs, and robbing communities across the country of their economic lifeblood," Paul said.

Other groups offering support for the bipartisan bill include the Campaign for Uyghurs, American Iron and Steel Institute, National Council of Textile Organizations, and Coalition for a Prosperous America.

"For years, the CCP's predatory trade policies have violated American trade laws and taken advantage of American companies, workers, and consumers through trade crimes like dumping, duty evasion, and fraud," Krishnamoorthi said on Wednesday. "The bipartisan passage of our bill today through the Judiciary Committee is a critical step toward holding perpetrators criminally liable for these illegal activities. I look forward to working with my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to make sure this bill becomes law."

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