Santa Cruz Standard

Monterey, CA – United States Representatives Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), David Valadao (CA-22), Lloyd Smucker (PA-11), and Jim Costa (CA-21) reintroduced the bipartisan China Trade Cheating Restitution Act to ensure that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP) distributes the remaining anti-dumping duties to U.S. garlic, honey, and crawfish producers that weren’t paid by the agencies between 2000 and 2014.  Senator Jon Tester (D-MT), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and John Thune (R-SD) have introduced companion legislation in the Senate.

Under the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act of 2000 (CDSOA), CBP still owes garlic producers an additional $10.5 million in retroactive duties. These producers have suffered years of abusive dumping practices by China and are owed that amount in restitution that was wrongly kept from them by CBP.

“While the federal government has collected dumping duties on garlic imports from China, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency has not paid the full restitution to impacted producers,” said Rep. Panetta.  “This bipartisan legislation would ensure that the federal government takes action to correct these failures, by paying all collected duties and interest to those in our agricultural sector who deserve it. Chinese importers dumping garlic into our market have caused serious harm to Californian producers.  The federal government has a responsibility to not only prevent these harmful trade practices but ensure our producers are taken care of.”

“China’s practice of dumping garlic into the U.S. has unfairly distorted our markets and inflicted serious harm on producers here in the Central Valley,” said Rep. Valadao.  “The federal government has already collected dumping duties from these imports, but producers have still not been paid the money they are owed from China’s unfair trade practices. This bipartisan legislation ensures producers receive the payments they are entitled to from the CBP and gives our farmers a fair chance to compete.”

“It is no surprise that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has engaged in deceptive and unfair trade practices for years, including efforts to undercut key American agricultural industries,” said Rep. Smucker.  “Efforts to rein in the CCP’s abuses resulted in the collection of anti-dumping duties since 2000, unfortunately much of those funds have yet to be paid to impacted companies by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing this legislation to make whole American companies that are impacted by the CCP’s egregious trade practices. These funds will allow American companies to reinvest, creating jobs and opportunity in Pennsylvania’s 11th Congressional District and across the nation.”

“On behalf of American fresh garlic producers, I want to thank Congressmen Panetta and Valadao as well as other Members of Congress for reintroducing The China Trade Cheating Restitution Act,” said Bill Christopher, Managing Partner, Christopher Ranch.  “Their support of the US garlic industry and California agriculture in the face of unfair foreign competition is greatly appreciated.”

“American garlic producers and other US agricultural industries were severely harmed by unfairly traded imports from China,” said John Layous, Co-Owner, the Garlic Company.  “The China Trade Cheating Restitution Act finally provides producers the funds taken from duties and related interest on Chinese imports that they are entitled to in order to help us reinvest and rebuild.  We thank the Congressmen and Senators – led in the House by Congressman Valadao and Panetta – that today reintroduced this important legislation to finally get American farmers what they deserve.”

Original source can be found here