A coalition of U.S. manufacturers of steel wire products, including mattress innersprings, says certain companies are deliberately evading anti–dumping duties that have been imposed by the U.S. government.
The coalition for Enforcement of Anti–dumping and Countervailing Duty Orders says that lack of enforcement against the companies is costing the U.S. Treasury at least $84 million annually and the innerspring and hanger industries jobs—already 275. The coalition has submitted evidence to members of Congress, the U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. Customs and Border Protection and is seeking stronger enforcement of existing anti–dumping orders.
The coalition includes major bedding industry supplier Leggett & Platt, as well as American Spring Wire Co., Insteel Industries, M&B Metal Products, Mid Continent Nail and Vulcan Threaded Products. The companies manufacture steel wire products, including nails, uncovered innerspring units, garment hangers and carbon steel threaded rod.
Each of these industries separately petitioned the U.S. government for relief from unfairly traded imports. The International Trade Commission and the Department of Commerce did establish that foreign companies were selling products in the United States at less than fair value and that these sales were materially injuring U.S. industries. The Department of Commerce issued orders that levied import duties on these items, including innersprings coming from China, South Africa and Vietnam.
The coalition says companies are evading the duties through a variety of tactics, including shipping products to the United States via a third country and then falsely designating it as the country of origin, making “inconsequential modifications” to the product in a third country and placing false labels displaying a different country of origin on products actually made in China.
According to the coalition, throughout the first half of 2008, virtually all innersprings imported to the United States listed China as the country of origin but that changed when the anti–dumping case came before the International Trade Commission. Now, the coalition says, almost no innersprings are labeled as originating in China, “while imports from Taiwan, Malaysia and Hong Kong have surged, despite the lack of manufacturing facilities to handle the increase in those other countries.”
“These schemes are blatant and purposeful,” said David Libla, Mid Continent Nail president. “Not only are they clear evidence of attempts to maintain an unfair advantage in the marketplace, they’re also costing taxpayers millions of dollars and reducing job opportunities in this country.”
The coalition advocates several solutions, including requiring collection of cash deposits on suspect merchandise at U.S. points of entry, stationing at least one Customs and Border Protection official at each of the major seaports and land border crossings, incorporating specific enforcement language into the Customs Reauthorization Act and expanding the authority of the Department of Commerce to investigate transshipment and other evasion activities.
