WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Committee to Support U.S. Trade Laws today applauded the commitment by Senators Max Baucus and Orrin Hatch to move legislation this year aimed at combating evasion of antidumping and countervailing duties. The comments by the Senate Finance Chairman and the Ranking Member were made in response to an amendment offered by Senators Ron Wyden, Olympia Snowe, Charles Schumer, and Benjamin Cardin to the Korea Free Trade Agreement, which was the subject of a mock mark-up today.

“The fact that they have pledged to move forward this year with legislation to deal with the problem of duty evasion is a significant step forward in getting some meaningful procedures on the books. We appreciate that this has been a truly bipartisan effort”

The amendment would create a process to ensure that the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) investigates evidence and allegations that merchandise is being imported into the U.S. in ways that evade the proper collection of antidumping or countervailing duties (AD/CVD). These evasion methods include transshipment, misrepresentation of merchandise, and under-reporting the value of the merchandise. The amendment reflects the principles put forward in S. 1133 (The ENFORCE Act) as introduced by Senators Wyden, Snowe, McCaskill, Blunt, Brown (OH), Portman, and Schumer earlier this year. Ultimately the amendment was withdrawn, but only after pledges by both the Chairman Baucus and Ranking Member Hatch to take up legislation this year to deal with this problem.

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“Our members want to thank Senators Baucus and Hatch for recognizing the critical situation faced by companies that are being pummeled by unfair trade,” said Gilbert Kaplan, President of the Committee to Support U.S. Trade Laws. “The fact that they have pledged to move forward this year with legislation to deal with the problem of duty evasion is a significant step forward in getting some meaningful procedures on the books. We appreciate that this has been a truly bipartisan effort,” he added. Duty evasion robs U.S. industries of the relief that should be afforded them from the imposition of antidumping or countervailing duties, and cheats the U.S. Treasury out of hundreds of million in revenue. CSUSTL looks forward to working with Senate Finance members to get the ENFORCE Act enacted into law as soon as possible.

About CSUSTL

The Committee to Support U.S. Trade Laws is an organization of companies, trade associations, labor unions, workers, and individuals committed to preserving and enhancing U.S. trade laws. CSUSTL's members span all sectors, including manufacturing, technology, agriculture, mining, energy, and services. CSUSTL is dedicated to ensuring that the unfair trade laws are not weakened through legislation or policy decisions in Washington, D.C., in international negotiations, or through dispute settlements at the World Trade Organization and elsewhere.