America’s agriculture producers would receive duties collected by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP) for China’s unfair trading practices under a bipartisan bill recently introduced by U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-PA).
“I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing this legislation to make whole American companies that are impacted by the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) egregious trade practices,” Rep. Smucker said on June 16. “These funds will allow American companies to reinvest, creating jobs and opportunity in Pennsylvania’s 11th Congressional District and across the nation.”
The China Trade Cheating Restitution Act of 2023, H.R. 4044, which Rep. Smucker cosponsored on June 12 with bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) and fellow original cosponsor U.S. Rep. David Valadao (R-CA), would ensure that the CBP distributes the remaining antidumping duties to U.S. mushroom, garlic, honey, and crawfish producers that weren’t paid by the agencies between 2000 and 2014, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.
Under the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act of 2000, the CBP owes producers in those agricultural industries another roughly $40 million in restitution, the summary says, noting that H.R. 4044 would amend the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 to ensure the duties and interests are distributed.
“It is no surprise that the 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.”
U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), John Thune (R-SD), and Jon Tester (D-MT) introduced companion legislation in their chamber, according to the summary.