Thomas Russell — Furniture Today

Import duties collected after September 2014 will go to government

WASHINGTON — The U.S. government has repealed the Byrd Amendment, the controversial trade law that is allowing some U.S. furniture manufacturers to collect millions of dollars in import duties.

Congress repealed the amendment as part of a budget bill, which President Bush signed into law on Feb. 8.
The move will eliminate the payment of antidumping duties beyond Oct. 1, 2014, to U.S. manufacturers that petitioned for a federal investigation into the alleged dumping of Chinese-made wood bedroom furniture on the U.S. market. Antidumping duties collected until Sept. 30, 2014 will still be paid out to the petitioners.
After that point, any duties collected will instead go into government coffers.

The Byrd Amendment originated in 2000 as part of a trade bill signed into law by President Clinton. It amended the Tariff Act of 1930 by directing that antidumping duties be paid to U.S. manufacturers who supported antidumping investigations. Before that, the money went to the government.

United Press International reported that since 2001, the government has paid out more than $1.26 billion in duties to companies in various industries claiming to be hurt by low-cost imports.

Last week, Furniture/Today reported that in 2012, the federal government paid out $144,159 to 24 furniture companies that supported the initial antidumping investigation begun in 2003. This represents a fraction of the $116.9 million in duties on Chinese made bedroom furniture the government collected as of Oct. 1, 2012.

Further payments are expected to be made after the completion an ongoing administrative review and other legal proceedings relating to the antidumping case.