Business Groups Oppose Effort to Reinstate Byrd Amendment

(World Trade Interactive)

Dozens of business groups are opposing an emerging effort to reinstate the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act, or Byrd Amendment. This law, which was passed in 2000 and repealed in 2005 in response to an adverse ruling by the World Trade Organization, required U.S. Customs and Border Protection to distribute antidumping and countervailing duty revenues to affected domestic producers instead of depositing them into the general treasury.

Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.V., is reportedly seeking support from his colleagues for a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., that backs legislation reinstating the Byrd Amendment. The letter asserts that “a large number of American industries, associations, and their workers” are calling for such action because the repeal of the Byrd Amendment was “a terrible mistake” that was “never seriously contemplated by the Senate.” Putting the law back in place would help compensate U.S. companies and workers that face continued injurious dumping or subsidization even after an AD or CV duty order is imposed, the letter said. Among those who would benefit are producers of candles, catfish, cement, crawfish, furniture, bearings, garlic, hand tools, honey, mushrooms, pasta, raspberries, semiconductor chips, shrimp, steel, pipe, chemicals, fertilizers and enriched uranium.

On June 30, however, 27 trade associations sent a letter to Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., arguing that a reinstatement of the Byrd Amendment would subject U.S. exports to substantial retaliation and undermine the United States’ ability to persuade other countries to comply with their international obligations. Click here for the complete article.