The U.S. Senate yesterday agreed to repeal the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act, commonly known as the "Byrd Amendment," as part of The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. In a compromise reached between House of Representatives and Senate conferees, the repeal will be delayed for two years and Byrd Amendment distributions will continue for entries made prior to October 1, 2007. The conference report now heads back to the House for final action to resolve discrepancies between the House and Senate reports that are unrelated to repeal of the Byrd Amendment. President Bush is expected to sign the legislation soon.
The Byrd Amendment distributes antidumping and countervailing duties collected in each trade remedy case to the companies that petitioned or supported antidumping and countervailing duty actions. Other Customs duties are distributed to the U.S. Treasury.
Approximately $3.7 billion is being held by U.S. Customs in duties assessed against Canadian softwood lumber. Canada requested the money be returned. Should these duties be distributed as Byrd payments, the level of Canada's authorized retaliation would skyrocket.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled in 2002 that the Byrd Amendment violates U.S. trade obligations.
The Coalition for Fair Lumber Imports expressed its discontent with the repeal of the Byrd Amendment. Chairman Steve Swanson commented that “this development is disappointing, but underscores how important the next few years are in the lumber industry’s fight to level the playing field with Canadian producers. While this action may eventually end CDSOA, it makes clear that duties assessed on subsidized Canadian lumber that is imported before October 1, 2007 are to be paid to the U.S. lumber industry.”
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