WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) urged the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), to hold a hearing on the outcome of the Bush Administration’s negotiations last week in Doha, Qatar. Rockefeller is concerned that U.S. Trade Representative, Robert Zoellick, made concessions at the WTO meeting that will compromise U.S. anti-dumping and other trade laws that protect American workers from unfair competition.

In calling for the hearing, Rockefeller said, "This issue warrants a careful and public review given the dangerous commitments made by the U.S. in Doha. Our anti-dumping and countervailing duty laws are the American economy’s last line of defense to ensure that the competition our companies and our workers face is fair.

That’‘s why I am particularly troubled by the language in the Doha Development Agenda that puts our unfair trade laws on the table."

Currently, responsibility for U.S. trade policy is split between the Bush Administration and Congress. However, Senator Rockefeller believes that the results from last week’s WTO meeting demonstrated a lack of congressional input and oversight. "Without active congressional oversight, the Administration is prepared to embark upon dangerous new initiatives that don’t serve the interests of West Virginia or indeed the entire United States," the senator stated.

"The officials who represented the U.S. at the WTO meeting last week decided to cave into other countries’ demands that we gut U.S. trade laws. The U.S. is the biggest, richest and most open market in the world and that creates a special incentive for foreign companies to export to the United States, through means fair and unfair," Rockefeller said. "I can understand why foreign countries would want to see those laws gutted, but there is no legitimate reason for our government to agree to do so."

In particular, U.S. officials agreed to curb anti-dumping rules to block imports of steel and other products, which are important to West Virginia.

Rockefeller noted that earlier this year 62 senators sent a letter to the President saying that they would object strongly to any moves to weaker our trade laws at the WTO. Rockefeller added, "The wishes of the Senate seem to have been ignored." As a result, Rockefeller concluded, "I think it is important for Congress to, again, make it clear to the Administration that we will not allow any weakening changes to our unfair trade laws,"

The Senator is asking Chairman Baucus to hold the hearing as soon as Congress returns from the Thanksgiving break next week.