A new agency, announced yesterday by President Obama, to crack down on unfair trade practices by countries such as China, is “a step in the right direction,” says AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.

In a tweet—follow Trumka on Twitter at @RichardTrumka—he says the Interagency Trade Enforcement Center:

…will strengthen & coordinate enforcement of U.S. trade laws—a goal that unfortunately was ignored by the previous administration.

Obama says the new agency will "bring the full resources of the federal government to bear on investigations…to counter any unfair trading practices around the world, including by countries like China."

The AFL-CIO says if the ITEC is going to be effective in combating unfair trade, it must have the tools to carry out a strong and thorough enforcement of U.S. trade laws. Those include adequate funding, subpoena power and coordination with the U.S. Department of Labor, which helps administer labor rights obligations in our trade agreements.

Importantly, the ITEC must also have the ability to compel cooperation of U.S.-based businesses when the trade cases would protect American workers and jobs.

If those criteria are met, the nation’s trading partners will get the message that the United States will no longer ignore violations of existing and future trade agreements. As Trumka tweets:

Bottom line for ITEC is potential, if strengthened, to stop unfair trade tactics that have devastated our communities and cost us jobs.