Bipartisan Bill Would Direct AD/CVD Revenue to Trade-Impacted Communities
Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., have introduced a bill that would direct antidumping and countervailing duty revenue to counties that have been injured by trade. According to a one-page description of the bill, introduced Dec. 6, "Priority is given to communities where a domestic producer would be most likely to increase production and employment with the benefit of a grant."
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The one-pager said that the amount paid by importers for AD/CVD varies and tends to run between $100 million and $300 million annually.
"Filing a case is a costly and time-consuming process. Even when you win, you may have to file another petition to stop transshipping and circumvention. When the relief finally comes, it is often too little too late," the summary said.
“When countries like China cheat the trade system and flood the market with cheap goods, American companies, workers, and communities pay the price,” Baldwin said in a news release announcing the bill's introduction. “I am proud to lead this bill with my Republican colleague to invest in the places that are experiencing layoffs or closures because Chinese companies aren’t playing by the rules.” Cassidy cited shrimpers in his explanation of why he is sponsoring the bill.
In addition to grants distributed by Commerce to domestic companies that were hurt by foreign competition, the money could be spent on building public infrastructure, improving workforce development services and improving access to health and social services in those counties.
The summary said that the Resilient Communities Act is compliant with the World Trade Organization rules, but the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act of 2000, commonly known as the Byrd Amendment, ran afoul of that body's rules when a panel said that the distribution of duties to domestic producers more than compensated them for the costs of litigation. As a result, America's trading partners were allowed to impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports (see 04012110). Congress repealed the Byrd amendment in 2005.