The US President, Mr Barack Obama, has signed an executive order to create a federal trade enforcement agency which will investigate the unfair trade practices of countries like China.

To be established within 90 days, the Interagency Trade Enforcement Centre (ITEC), has been mandated to carry robust monitoring and enforcement of US rights under international trade agreements, and enforcement of domestic trade laws and ensure workers, businesses, ranchers, and farmers are able to compete on a level-playing field with foreign trade partners.

“The Interagency Trade Enforcement Centre will deal with trade imbalances to make sure that American workers and American businesses can compete on a level-playing field with countries around the globe, including China,” the White House Press Secretary, Mr Jay Carney, told reporters at his daily news conference yesterday.

“This new trade enforcement unit will better enable USTR and the Department of Commerce to join forces — with the support and collaboration of partner agencies like Agriculture, Homeland Security, Justice, State, Treasury and the Intelligence Community — to ensure that America’s trading partners play by the rules,” the US Trade Representative, Mr Ron Kirk, said.

The unit will help American workers and businesses compete and win on a fair global playing field, he said.

The Commerce Secretary, Mr John Bryson, termed it as a major step toward levelling the playing field for American workers and businesses today in establishing the Interagency Trade Enforcement Centre, a new trade enforcement unit to investigate unfair trading practices worldwide.

“The Commerce Department is committed to making it as easy as possible for US businesses to build things here and sell them everywhere, because we know that when American businesses and workers get a fair shot, they can compete and win,” MR Bryson said.

ITEC will serve as the primary forum within the federal government for USTR and other agencies to coordinate the enforcement of US trade rights. It will also be a forum to encourage greater participation among US workers, businesses, farmers and ranchers in the identification and reduction or elimination of unfair trade practices and barriers.

Obama’s fiscal 2013 budgets has asked Congress to invest $26 million in the Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration and the Office of the US Trade Representative to support the creation of ITEC.