NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- U.S. Rep. Charlie Melancon is pushing a bill he says would make it easier to hold foreign companies responsible for defective and dangerous products like the Chinese-made drywall that has cropped up in recent years.
The bill would force foreign companies to have an agent in the United States to represent foreign companies in U.S. courts. Melancon sits on the Energy and Commerce Committee, which has taken up the bill. A companion bill is in the U.S. Senate.
Melancon said Wednesday that Americans "are paying the price" because foreign companies are not "playing by the same safety rules as U.S. businesses."
