FREE TRADE FAIRNESS & FINANCIAL STABILITY OF U.S.A. UNDER ATTACK FROM WITHIN & WITHOUT

[J.R.]

We have very recently watched and listened closely as this country was, highly publicly, taken through a grueling budget process in which President Obama intervened, unconstitutionally, by inserting himself into the budget reconciliation process in Congress, in order to control it and produce a desired outcome favorable to pushing his agenda and pushing this country further down the road to socialism. That outcome provided for allowing Obamacare to be further implemented, even as the constitutionality of the so-called health care bill has not yet been determined by the U.S. Supreme Court, where the lawsuit against it is now pending.

Now, we learn that a U.S. Senate bill related to free trade agreements the U.S. enters into with other nations, has raised five important questions that Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, has now addressed to Treasury Secretary Timothy Eithner. Senator Hatch has informed Mr. Geithner that American companies will be put at a disadvantage by Dodd-Frank and that international regulatory disparities would be tremendously harmful to our nation.

It is important to understand the Dodd-Frank bill's significance to the financial security of this nation and the importance of including in it a requirement that free trade with other nations be fair and not put the United States at a disadvantage in international free trade.

Below is an excerpt from, and link to, an article on this matter. There is also a copy of the letter Sen. Hatch sent to Treasury Secretary Geithner:

"Hatch wants to halt Dodd-Frank until other nations get on board"

 

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) wants to put the brakes on the Dodd-Frank financial reform law until foreign nations adopt similar rules.

In a letter sent Friday to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Hatch said American companies are being put at a disadvantage by Dodd-Frank and that financial reform should be put on hold until other nations start playing by the same rules.

'I have real concerns that a lack of due diligence in the implementation of Dodd-Frank will result in unduly burdensome regulations that will undermine the competitiveness of our domestic financial industry, putting our nation at odds with our trading partners and placing further strain on an already stressed corporate tax structure,' the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee wrote.

'While I support well-reasoned efforts to strengthen our financial system, if implementation is rushed, the Administration risks crippling our financial institutions by making them uncompetitive...'atch wants to halt Dodd-Frank until other nations get on board..."

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/economy-a-budget/155281-dela...

 

Here is a copy of Senator Hatch's letter to Treasury Secretary Geithner:

"Dear Secretary Geithner:

As the Ranking Member of the United State Senate’s Committee on Finance (“Committee”), I have an obligation to consider the impact that federal policy has on America’s international economic competitiveness, and the impact that those policies have on international trade and federal revenues. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank”) contained hundreds of provisions requiring or allowing federal rulemaking through the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in the Department of the Treasury (“Department”). I have real concerns that a lack of due diligence in the implementation of Dodd-Frank will result in unduly burdensome regulations that will undermine the competitiveness of our domestic financial industry, putting our nation at odds with our trading partners and placing further strain on an already stressed corporate tax structure.

A recent report from analysts at the British investment branch of JPMorgan Chase highlighted the anti-competitive impact of these regulations. The authors concluded, “[w]e agree with the views expressed by some members of the Senate on the potential negative impact the restrictions on market making related activities rules might have on the competitiveness of the U.S. financial services sector.” While I support well-reasoned efforts to strengthen our financial system, if implementation is rushed, the Administration risks crippling our financial institutions by making them uncompetitive and less able to provide the vital services imperative to a robust and sustained economic recovery.

The goal of global financial stability is one that can be shared by our trading partners, and the adoption of common regulatory standards by competing nations is essential to a level playing field. We can certainly be in agreement that international regulatory disparities would be tremendously harmful to our nation. Yet, I am concerned that regulations implementing Dodd-Frank are now being drafted without adequate consideration of the possibility that they will push financial activity to foreign banks that fail to adopt similar regulations.

It is critical that the Committee receive updates as to whether our trading partners and international financial organizations are enacting reforms consistent with our interests, particularly given that many individuals indicate that aspects of the Dodd-Frank Act closely align with ongoing efforts of G-20 nations. Last November, the White House Press Secretary released a G-20 fact sheet which stated, “[t]he U.S. is working closely with the European Union and others to ensure that the G-20’s ambitious agenda for regulatory reform is implemented.” Additional reports indicate that the administration is in the continued process of consulting with G-20 countries to advance the goals of international regulatory reform.

In order to facilitate proper Senate oversight of the implementation of the Dodd-Frank financial framework, I respectfully request that you provide my office with the following information:

1) Have formalized consultations occurred with G-20 nations regarding implementation of provisions and principles included in the Dodd-Frank Act, including the Volcker rule?

2) Whether any provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act are unlikely to become part of the international financial regulatory framework, and reasons why.

3) Information as to whether the administration believes that failure of G-20 nations to adopt similar provisions to the Dodd-Frank Act will place US financial institutions at a competitive disadvantage with their foreign competitors.

4) Details on any action the administration has undertaken in furtherance of the International Policy Coordination section of the Dodd-Frank Act.

5) Dates which the administration believes G-20 nations will formally adopt and implement provisions akin to the Volcker rule.

There are significant outstanding issues surrounding global coordination of this regulatory framework. I strongly believe that these concerns demand delay of further implementation and rulemaking of Dodd-Frank Act provisions until and unless we receive assurances that international partners agree to adopt similar regulatory reforms. Otherwise, we are guaranteeing that our financial institutions will be placed in the untenable situation of competing with international institutions whose host countries refuse to be burdened by the same constricting framework which we so readily heaved upon ourselves.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. I would appreciate your working with my staff to discuss these issues before April 28, 2011.

Sen. Orrin Hatch"