madam speaker , i rise in opposition to h.r. 3283 on both process and policy grounds . 
this legislation is on the floor this week simply to provide political cover for members who vote for the flawed central american free trade agreement . 
the consideration of this bill is not a real attempt to react to chinese currency manipulation , trade barriers and state-sponsored subsidies . 
it is merely an empty , rhetorical response to our valid concerns about china 's ability to utilize cafta to circumvent u.s. trade laws . 
the bill 's title -- the u.s. trade rights enforcement act -- is , at best , a misnomer , because it actually prevents our country from enforcing its trade rights . 
while the bill purports to apply u.s. countervailing duty law to china , it contains three glaring loopholes that strip us from any ability to enforce that law . 
first , the bill limits our use of third-party data when investigating chinese subsidies in anti-dumping cases . 
the effect of this provision is to force us to use china 's own data in these cases , even though we 've learned time and again that china does not play fair in the global trade market . 
the bill also exempts chinese domestic subsidies when industries file both anti-dumping and countervailing duty cases . 
this provision essentially applies a more lenient standard to non-market economies than to market economies under u.s. anti-dumping and cvd law . 
let me remind my colleagues that our goal here is to get tough on china , not give them a free pass while holding our friends with market economies to a tougher standard . 
the bill also imposes extra burdens on the u.s. that raises serious issues with regard to both sovereignty and separation of powers . 
the bill would direct the commerce department to essentially pre-clear the application of u.s. law to ensure consistency with the wto . 
while every other u.s. law is deemed wto-compliant unless and until the wto rules otherwise , this bill makes our actions toward china jump through extra international hoops before it can ever be applied . 
even worse -- for the first time ever -- the bill would give the commerce department the power to align u.s. law with the wto , without action from congress . 
article i , section 8 of the u.s. constitution gives the congress -- not the executive branch -- the sole responsibility for the regulation of foreign commerce . 
this provision is a serious infringement on the power of the legislative branch and strips the congress of much , if not all , authority to deal with our country 's trade concerns with china . 
i urge my colleagues not to fall for the majority 's empty rhetoric . 
this bill will do nothing to help our trade problems with china and is a thinly-veiled diversionary tactic to shore up votes for the flawed cafta agreement . 
look beyond the majority 's smoke and mirrors , and vote against this ill-timed and ill-conceived legislation . 
