US Rail, Steel Groups Call for Sanctions Against Chinese Rail Company

U.S. rail and steel industry groups asked the Treasury Department to sanction the China Railroad Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC), saying the state-owned company is undermining the U.S. rail sector. CRRC plans to dominate the global rail market and has used state-backed financing, below-market pricing and “other anti-competitive tactics” that threaten the U.S. rail industry, the groups said in a July 22 letter. CRRC was also mentioned in a June Defense Department list of Chinese companies with ties to the country’s military (see 2006250024).

“Given the significant threat to the U.S. rail sector, and the role that rail plays in a vast amount of U.S. commerce and military transport, we write to encourage the imposition of immediate, meaningful, and permanent sanctions on CRRC,” the Rail Security Alliance, the United Steelworkers, the Alliance for American Manufacturing, the Iron and Steel Institute, the Steel Manufacturers Association and the American Foundry Society said.

The groups welcomed the imposition of Section 301 tariffs on China and the U.S.’s investigations of China’s forced technology transfers and intellectual property theft “in this sphere,” but said more needs to be done. “These steps are not enough to put an end to CRRC’s goal of dominating our rail sector and imperiling our manufacturing and national security interests tied to this industry,” the letter said. The groups urged the administration to invoke sanctions under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. “Now is the time for the administration to take immediate action against CRRC,” they said.