Cassidy, Thune Introduce Bill to Protect Louisiana Crawfish Industry

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) introduced the China Trade Cheating Restitution Act, which would direct Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to pay $38.5 million from the interest on anti-dumping duties received from Chinese imports to certain agricultural sectors harmed by China's illegal trade practices, including $10.6 million for crawfish producers.

"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," said Dr. Cassidy.

"South Dakota is one of the top honey-producing states in the country," said Senator Thune. "The unfair practice of circumventing U.S. trade laws, which jeopardizes honey producers' financial security, should be met with strict enforcement and increased protections. South Dakota honey producers deserve a level playing field. This bipartisan legislation helps ensure fair treatment for affected domestic producers and strengthens their ability to compete globally."

"Louisiana crawfish processors have taken a beating from unfairly traded crawfish from China," said Adam Johnson of Bayou Land Seafood in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana - an industry leader. "We are fortunate to have a Senator, like Bill Cassidy, who is willing to stand up for the industry."

For years, Chinese producers have participated in trade practices known as "dumping", in which crawfish is exported to the U.S. at a price below the cost of production, driving Louisiana crawfish producers out of business. While federal law instructs CBP to pass on these funds to American agricultural producers, administrative delays have prevented much of it from reaching businesses affected by China's unfair actions.

In 2000, Congress passed the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act (CDSOA), which instructed CBP to pay all collected anti-dumping (AD) duties and accrued interest to the U.S. producers that were injured by dumped imports. CDSOA applies to imports that entered the U.S. through September 30, 2007, but due to a range of delays, CBP is still assessing and collecting AD duties and interest on many of these imports.

The China Trade Cheating Restitution Act would:

• Require CBP to distribute under CDSOA an estimated $35.6 million in accrued delinquency interest on the antidumping duties that CBP collected and wrongfully withheld;
• Amend the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 to move the date of interest collected by the CBP to be dispersed from October 1, 2014 to October 1, 2000 to account for substantial interest withheld by CBP beginning in 2000.

Cassidy and Thune were joined by U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Tina Smith (D-MN) in introducing the legislation.

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