FACT SHEET: The Obama Administration’s Unprecedented Trade Enforcement Record
Defending the High-Paying Jobs Supported by Made-in-America Exports with Bipartisan Backing
“I will go anywhere in the world to open new markets for American products. And I will not stand by when our competitors don’t play by the rules. We’ve brought trade cases against China at nearly twice the rate as the last administration – and it’s made a difference. Over a thousand Americans are working today because we stopped a surge in Chinese tires. But we need to do more. It’s not right when another country lets our movies, music, and software be pirated. It’s not fair when foreign manufacturers have a leg up on ours only because they’re heavily subsidized.”
-President Barack Obama, 1/24/2012
“I have made rigorous trade enforcement a central pillar of U.S. trade policy, and we have moved aggressively to protect American workers and to improve labor laws and working conditions with trading partners across the globe.”
-President Barack Obama, 5/19/2015
Under President Obama, Made-in-America exports have hit record-breaking levels for the last 5 consecutive years, and those exports now support an all-time high of 11.7 million well-paying jobs all across our country to the benefit of American farmers, workers, and businesses of all sizes.
Now, to unlock greater economic opportunity for American exporters, President Obama’s Middle Class Economics strategy has prioritized increasing U.S. exports through smart, cutting-edge trade agreements. These 21st century trade agreements, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, will open vital markets for our exporters, support jobs, level the playing field for our workers with groundbreaking labor standards, and enhance American competitiveness by shaping globalization in a way that builds on our strengths in the global economy.
And if trade agreements with high standards are to deliver their maximum benefits to American families, then it is imperative that the United States government vigilantly monitors and enforces them. That is because when our trading partners in any region of the world break the rules set in our agreements and undermine American exporters’ hard-won access to international markets, it hurts our economy, it costs us good jobs, and it undercuts efforts to invest in and grow the jobs, skills, and technologies that will thrive in the 21st century economy.
To that end, with bipartisan support, the Obama Administratio
