U.S. Manufacturers Report Compelling Evidence of Evasion of Antidumping Duties on Imported Steel Wire Products

(PR Newswire)

$84 million annual loss to U.S. Treasury, negative impact on jobs documented

A coalition of U.S. manufacturers has compiled compelling evidence that certain companies subject to antidumping orders are costing the U.S. Treasury at least $84 million annually due to their deliberate evasion of the antidumping duties. In addition, more than 275 jobs have been lost in the innerspring and hanger industries alone, and additional jobs are threatened by these ongoing schemes to avoid antidumping duties. The information is being presented to Members of Congress, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection to seek stronger enforcement of existing antidumping orders that are designed to maintain a level playing field for U.S. manufacturers and their workers.

The Coalition for Enforcement of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Orders consists of several U.S. manufacturers of steel wire products, including steel nails, uncovered innerspring units, steel wire garment hangers, and carbon steel threaded rod, each of which separately petitioned the U.S. Government for relief from unfairly traded imports. Each of these industries, after nearly two years of proceedings before the International Trade Commission and the Department of Commerce, established that foreign companies were selling these products in the U.S. at less than fair value and that these sales were materially injuring U.S. industries; subsequently, Commerce issued antidumping duty orders that levied import duties on these items, in some cases up to 234%, as a way to remedy the injury caused by dumped imports. Read more here.