Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee are urging administration officials to take a tougher stand when it come to trade enforcement, according to The Hill.

In a letter to the White House, Democratic members of the committee praised the president’s handling of trade issues thus far into his first term, but made no bones about the fact that more could be done to protect American jobs and industries from unfair trade practices.

“It is now clear that trade barriers do not simply work themselves out over time, as proponents of that outdated approach have suggested,” they wrote. “Rather, it is imperative that the U.S. government act vigorously and aggressively to address the trade barriers and defend U.S. trade rights and interests.”

They point to the recently released National Trade Estimate that points out a whole host of trade barriers and other means China uses to provide an advantage to domestic companies.

China tilts the playing field in its favor through illegal subsidies, export quotas, domestic procurement laws and a myriad of other means.

The result has been devastating. American companies are unable to compete against rule-breaking Chinese companies. That has cost America millions upon millions of jobs over the years, especially since China entered into the World Trade Organization. The WTO was designed to prevent countries from gaming the system in their favor. It, however, has done an extremely poor job.

Ten years after entering the World Trade Organization, China has failed to live up to its commitment to transition away from a state-directed economy to a more market-based approach. Due to increased trade with China allowed by its entry into the WTO combined with their trade distorting policies, the U.S. trade deficit with the Asian giant has exploded since then.

Since entering the WTO in 2001, trade with China has resulted in the loss of 2.3 million jobs through 2007, according to the Economic Policy Institute. In 2006 alone, the trade gap with China resulted in the loss of 366,000 American jobs. Those fortunate enough to retain their jobs witnessed their annual earnings decrease by roughly $1,400. American workers are put in direct competition with one another as more and more employers look to offshore production to nations with lower wage rates.

“The need is immediate and urgent,” the Democrats wrote, calling for more administrative action. “In the past decade, the United States trade deficit has reached unprecedented and unsustainable levels, upwards of 5 percent of overall GDP in 2007 and 2008.”

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