Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) today introduced the bipartisan China Trade Cheating Restitution Act. This proposal would ensure agricultural sectors most affected by China’s evasion on anti-dumping duties will receive approximately $38.5 million in accrued delinquency interest on duties wrongfully withheld by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) from 2000-2014.
For nearly two decades, Chinese producers have deliberately exported various goods to the U.S. at a price below the cost of production to purposefully increase their market share and drive Montana, Louisiana and Iowa producers out of business – a practice called "dumping." The U.S. placed anti-dumping duties on Chinese producers in 2001 to protect domestic producers and condemn China's unfair actions.
“Iowa farmers have felt the effects of China playing games with our trade laws and profiting from unfair trade practices. Our proposal will help offset these effects and ensure producers are granted the relief they need,” Grassley said.
“Montana’s farmers grow the best products in the world and shouldn’t be penalized for following the rules,” said Tester. “China’s continued violation of U.S. import laws has hurt producers at home, making it harder to compete in emerging markets, and America’s farmers need to be made whole. This bipartisan bill will give domestic producers the resources they need to compete and will help ensure we maintain our competitive edge over China for years to come.”
“Crawfish is part of our culture in Louisiana, and we will defend it,” said Dr. Cassidy. “China is attempting to put our crawfish farmers out of business dumping their product in the U.S. at prices below the cost of production. This is against the law. This legislation gives American farmers the resources they need to stay competitive and thrive.”
“South Dakota is one of the top honey-producing states in the country,” said Thune. “The unfair practice of circumventing U.S. trade laws, which jeopardizes honey producers’ financial security, should be met with strict enforcement and increased protections. South Dakota honey producers deserve a level-playing field. This bipartisan legislation helps ensure fair treatment for affected domestic producers and strengthens their ability to compete globally.”
In 2000 Congress passed the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act (CDSOA), which instructed CBP to pay all collected anti-dumping duties and accrued interest to the U.S. producers who were injured by dumped imports. CDSOA applies to imports that entered the U.S. through September 30, 2007, but due to a range of delays, CBP is still assessing and collecting AD duties and interest on many of these imports. Since 2000, it is estimated that China has evaded nearly $1.2 billion in anti-dumping duties.
The China Trade Cheating Restitution Act would:
- Require CBP to distribute under CDSOA an estimated $38.5 million in accrued delinquency interest on the antidumping duties that CBP collected and wrongfully withheld
- Amend the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 to move the date of interest collected by the CBP to be dispersed from October 1, 2014 to October 1, 2000 to account for substantial interest withheld by CBP beginning in 2000
Original source can be found here
