Furniture Today,
BAY MINETTE, Ala. — Standard Furniture Mfg. says it didn’t support the antidumping petition against wood bedroom

furniture from China when the case was filed, and still doesn’t support the petition today.

However, Todd Evans, vice president of sales and marketing, said the company now believes it has the right to seek a share of the duties collected under the antidumping ruling. (Click here to see the complaint.)

In January, Standard filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of International Trade seeking a share of duties under the Byrd Amendment, which tells how duties paid by importers of Chinese wood bedroom furniture are distributed. Furniture Brands International filed a similar suit.

In a written statement this week, Evans explained Standard’s actions:

“We recognize and support the right of domestic manufacturers to bring antidumping petitions where there is a legitimate concern about dumping,” he wrote.

“Similarly, we expect that the rest of the industry will recognize and support our right to receive financial distributions of duties collected under the Byrd Amendment. Recent court rulings have held that all domestic manufacturers of a product subject to dumping duties are eligible to receive Byrd distributions whether or not they supported the petition.

“These court rulings have been based on the constitutional rights of domestic manufacturers.  Because Standard produces wooden bedroom furniture here in the United States, the courts have now found that it is eligible for Byrd distributions. The recent court filings by Standard simply seek to ensure and protect those constitutional rights.

“We did not and do not support this particular petition because we do not believe it is supported by the facts, nor is it in the best interest of our industry. Our position has not changed. We are simply seeking to protect our rights.”

Furniture Brands said in its lawsuit that it believed it should receive about $6.3 million of the funds collected for distribution so far. Standard’s claim did not state an amount.