WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and John Thune, R-S.D., introduced legislation that would direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to distribute tens of millions of dollars in interest collected on antidumping duties to U.S. agricultural producers harmed by illegal Chinese trade practices, including Louisiana crawfish producers.
The China Trade Cheating Restitution Act would require CBP to distribute an estimated $38.5 million in accrued interest collected on antidumping duties tied to Chinese imports. Of that amount, approximately $10.6 million would be directed to crawfish producers.
The bill targets funds collected under the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act, a 2000 law that instructed CBP to distribute antidumping and countervailing duties, along with accrued interest, to U.S. producers injured by dumped or subsidized imports. Although CDSOA applied to imports entering the United States through Sept. 30, 2007, CBP continues to assess and collect duties and interest on those entries.
According to the bill sponsors, administrative delays have prevented much of the interest collected from reaching affected producers, despite existing statutory requirements.
“Louisiana’s crawfish industry is more than just a business—it’s our culture. We’re standing up to China’s illegal attempts to hurt our producers, our processors, and our way of life,” Cassidy said.
The legislation would also amend the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 by moving the start date for distributing interest collected by CBP from Oct. 1, 2014, back to Oct. 1, 2000, to account for interest that lawmakers say has been improperly withheld for more than two decades.
Chinese crawfish producers have long been accused of dumping product into the U.S. market at prices below the cost of production, a practice that U.S. industry groups say has displaced domestic producers and processors, particularly in Louisiana.
“Louisiana crawfish processors have taken a beating from unfairly traded crawfish from China,” said Adam Johnson of Bayou Land Seafood in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. “We are fortunate to have a Senator, like Bill Cassidy, who is willing to stand up for the industry.”
While the bill includes provisions benefiting crawfish producers, it would also direct payments to other agricultural sectors affected by Chinese dumping practices, including honey producers.
“The unfair practice of circumventing U.S. trade laws, which jeopardizes honey producers’ financial security, should be met with strict enforcement and increased protections,” Thune said.
Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Tina Smith, D-Minn., joined Cassidy and Thune in introducing the legislation.