Today, Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party and Congressman Tom Suozzi (D-NY) introduced the Restoring Trade Fairness Act, the first bipartisan bill that would revoke China’s Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR). This comes following President Trump's new executive order, directing the Secretary of Commerce and the United States Trade Representative to assess legislative proposals regarding Permanent Normal Trade Relations with the People's Republic of China.

In 2000, as China prepared to enter the WTO, Congress voted to extend PNTR status to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), hoping that the Chinese Communist Party would liberalize and adopt fair trading practices. Achieving PNTR status meant that the Chinese state-run economy received preferential tariff treatment under U.S. law, opening the door for the mass influx of products made in the communist nation. This gamble failed. In the two decades since, the United States manufacturing industry has been depleted, American firms have had their intellectual property pillaged by CCP economic coercion, and the CCP grew into America’s foremost adversary.

Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Jim Banks (R-IN) introduced companion legislation in the Senate today as well.

“The Restoring Trade Fairness Act is a critical step toward ending the unfair economic practices of the Chinese Communist Party that have hurt American workers and weakened our national security. For too long, permanent normal trade relations with China have undermined our manufacturing base, shifted American jobs abroad, and allowed the CCP to exploit our markets while betraying the promise of fair competition. In response, this legislation will safeguard U.S. national security, enhance supply chain resilience, and bring manufacturing jobs back to America and our allies," said Chairman Moolenaar, following the bill’s introduction.