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Fair Trade - March 2012
AEC effort succeeds! China duties upheld
A fast-moving legislative advocacy effort to uphold the countervailing duties applied to China in 24 U.S. industries, including aluminum extrusion, succeeded earlier this month. Thanks to a bold campaign that led to a quick turnaround by the U.S. Congress, a new law was signed on March 12, 2012 affirming the Commerce Department's authority to place countervailing duties (CVD) on imports from China and other non-market economies (NME).
The legislation overturns a surprising Dec. 19, 2011 ruling by a Federal Court of Appeals in the case of GPX International Tires vs. United States, which found that Commerce does not have the authority to impose CVDs on NMEs. The AEC, the U.S. aluminum extrusion industry and its supporters all came together to offer a legislative solution, which Congress passed with bipartisan support. The new law means that hard-won duties on incoming Chinese extrusions, enacted in May 2011, will remain in place.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has established an online procedure by which concerned individuals can report illegal import and export activity. By completing and submitting the form on the following website, you can help prevent international trade violations. If you have knowledge of a violation of United States trade law, you will be asked to fill out a short form explaining the infraction. Once you have submitted the form, a confirmation e-mail will be sent to the address you provided if you gave one (you can also report anonymously). The website is: https://apps.cbp.gov/allegations.
Related topic: Canada rejects plea to allow aluminum extrusion imports
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