[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 159 (Tuesday, December 13, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13478-S13479]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                CONTINUED DUMPING AND SUBSIDY OFFSET ACT

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I want to take an additional moment or 
two, while I have the floor, to make a brief argument in support of the 
motion which is going to be offered by Senator DeWine and Senator Byrd 
to instruct the budget conferees to drop the repeal of the Continued 
Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act.
  This legislation was passed in the year 2000 under a program which 
allows the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection to distribute duties 
collected on unfairly traded imports to those U.S. businesses and their 
workers who have been injured by dumped or unfairly subsidized imports.
  Over 700 companies in almost every State of the Union, including many 
small- and medium-sized companies, have received distributions under 
this act, benefitting producers and workers in lumber, crawfish, 
shrimp, honey, garlic, cement, mushrooms, steel, bearings, raspberries, 
furniture, semiconductor chips, and a broad range of other industries 
across the Nation hurt by continued unfair trade.
  My State, Pennsylvania, has been a victim to a very substantial 
extent. Companies in a variety of industries, including those that 
produce steel, cement, agriculture, and food products, have benefitted 
from the $1.261 billion since this program was put into operation. The 
World Trade Organization has objected to this provision, and it is my 
hope that the administration will fight the World Trade Organization's 
conclusion. There have been instances in the past where the World Trade 
Organization has said our practices violate their laws, and our 
executive branch has gone to fight them to make a change. I think that 
is what they should do here.
  This compensates the companies and the workers who have been 
victimized by these unfair trade practices. As a matter of basic and 
fundamental fairness, this money ought to continue going to that.
  In the interest of brevity, I ask unanimous consent that the complete 
text of my statement be printed in the Record following my oral 
remarks.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

    DeWine Motion To Instruct Conferees To Drop the Repeal of CSDOA 
                   Statement of Senator Arlen Specter

       Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, as I have said, I have sought 
     recognition to express my opposition to section 8701 of H.R. 
     4241, the House-passed budget reconciliation bill, which 
     seeks to repeal the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act, 
     CDSOA, or Byrd amendment, and to express my support for the 
     DeWine motion to instruct conferees to not include this 
     provision in the conference report.
       CDSOA was enacted in 2000 to enable U.S. businesses and 
     workers to survive the face of continued unfair trade. The 
     program allows the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection to 
     distribute duties collected on unfairly traded imports to 
     those U.S. businesses and their workers who have been injured 
     by dumped and unfairly subsidized imports.
       Over 700 companies in almost every State of the Nation, 
     including many small- and medium-sized companies, have 
     received distributions under CDSOA, which benefits procedures 
     of lumber, crawfish, shrimp, honey, garlic, cement, 
     mushrooms, steel, bearings, raspberries, furniture, 
     semiconductor chips and a broad range of other industries 
     across the Nation hurt by continued unfair trade.
       In Pennsylvania, companies in a variety of industries, 
     including steels, cement, agriculture, and food products have 
     benefitted from these distributions by investing in research 
     and development, infrastructure improvements, and 
     improvements to pension programs. In doing so, companies have 
     been able to continue operations and, in some situations, 
     increased capacity.
       Overall, disbursements have totaled $1.261 billion since 
     its inception in 2000, $226 million in fiscal year 2005. 
     Pennsylvania companies, alone, have received over $111 
     million in disbursements under CDSOA from fiscal year 2005 
     through fiscal year 2005 approximately $22 million annualy--
     approximately 9 percent of the total distributions.
       Repealing or modifying this act would negatively impact 
     U.S. workers and businesses, leading to the loss of the U.S. 
     jobs to foreign competition, which would cost thousands of 
     American workers their health insurance and pension benefits 
     and contribute to the further outsourcing of Americans jobs.
       This provision has had broad support in this body, where 
     some 75 Senators have signed letters to the administration 
     urging retention of this vital provision in the face of an 
     adverse WTOP decision allowing countries to retaliate by 
     imposing tariff surcharges on U.S. products.
       Congress directed the administration to resolve the WTO 
     issued in ongoing trade negotiations in the fiscal year 2004 
     and fiscal year 2005 ombinus appropriations bills, and the 
     fiscal year 2006 CJS appropriations bill that became law last 
     month. That language requires the administration to hold 
     negotiations to recognize the right of countries to 
     distribute duties collected from unfair trade as they deem 
     appropriate.
       I urge my colleagues to support the motion.

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a letter 
dated November 4, 2005, and a letter which I signed along with some 69 
other Senators, dated February 4, 2003, be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:


[[Page S13479]]




                                                  U.S. Senate,

                                 Washington, DC, November 4, 2005.
     Hon. Bill Frist,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Frist, It is our understanding that the House 
     of Representatives will include the repeal of the Continued 
     Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act (CDSOA) in their budget 
     reconciliation measure. We do not believe that the budget 
     reconciliation process should be used to substantively change 
     U.S. trade law.
       The goal of our trade laws is to ensure that an even 
     playing field is provided for American and foreign producers 
     of goods. As you know, Congress passed CDSOA in response to 
     concerns about the consistent, unfair trade practices in 
     which some of our trading partners have been engaged. Under 
     CDSOA, hundreds of companies, farmers, ranchers, and worker 
     groups, from all across America, have received distributions 
     from duties collected from our trading laws. Recipients 
     include large, medium and small companies, worker 
     representatives and farmers in nearly every state in the 
     country.
       Seventy-two senators have made their opposition to 
     repealing CDSOA public. Should legislation regarding budget 
     reconciliation move towards conference, we would urge the 
     Senate not to accede to any provisions that may be included 
     in the House bill that would repeal CDSOA.
           Sincerely,
         Mike DeWine, John Warner, Elizabeth Dole, Larry E. Craig, 
           George V. Voinovich, Arlen Specter, Johnny Isakson, --
           ---- ------, Rick Santorum, Conrad Burns, Norm Coleman, 
           Mel Martinez, Saxby Chambliss.
         Richard Shelby, Olympia Snowe, George Allen, John Thune, 
           Susan M. Collins, Mike Crapo, Jim Bunning, David 
           Vitter, John Cornyn, Thad Cochran, Trent Lott, Michael 
           B. Enzi.
                                  ____



                                                  U.S. Senate,

                                 Washington, DC, February 4, 2003.
     Hon. George W. Bush,
     President of the United States,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. President: We write to express our strong interest 
     regarding the approach that may be taken by the U.S. 
     Government in response to the WTO Appellate Body's January 
     16, 2003, ruling that the United States violated its WTO 
     obligations when it enacted the Continued Dumping and Subsidy 
     Offset Act (CDSOA) in 2000. In our view, the WTO has acted 
     beyond the scope of its mandate by finding violations where 
     none exists and where no obligations were negotiated.
       CDSOA is a payment program established by Congress to 
     address policy objectives that can enable our domestic 
     producers to continue to invest in their facilities and 
     workers. Its continued operation is critical to preserve jobs 
     that will otherwise be lost as the result of illegal dumping 
     or unfair subsidies and to maintain the competitiveness of 
     American industry.
       In its November 2002 statement to the Appellate Body 
     defending this law, the Administration stated that, ``[T]he 
     Panel in this case has created obligations that do not exist 
     in the WTO Agreements cited. The errors committed are serious 
     and many about a statute which, in the end, creates a payment 
     program that is not challenged as a subsidy.'' We concur with 
     this statement and consequently believe that America's 
     trading partners must be pressed into negotiations on CDSOA 
     prior to any attempt to change our laws.
       Specifically, we urge you to: (1) seek express recognition 
     of the existing right of WTO Members to distribute monies 
     collected from antidumping and countervailing duties; (2) 
     promptly integrate the Administration's recent Report to 
     Congress on the WTO Dispute Settlement Process; and (3) 
     consult closely with the Congress on the particulars of any 
     approach taken in negotiations on this issue.
       We look forward to consultations with your Administration 
     on this important matter and to obtaining a positive 
     resolution that preserves the law for American companies and 
     their workers.
           Sincerely,
         Robert C. Byrd, Max Baucus, Mark Dayton, Tom Daschle, Jay 
           Rockefeller, John Breaux, Kent Conrad, John F. Kerry, 
           Jeff Bingaman, Mike DeWine, Rick Santorum, Larry E. 
           Craig, Trent Lott, Jim Bunning, ------ ------, Olympia 
           Snowe, George V. Voinvich, Arlen Specter, Dianne 
           Feinstein, Dick Durbin.
         Blanche L. Lincoln, John Edwards, Fritz Hollings, Joe 
           Biden, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Jon Corzine, Byron L. 
           Dorgan, ------ ------, Saxby Chambliss, Susan Collins, 
           Mike Enzi, Evan Bayh, Robert E. Bennett, Craig Thomas, 
           Pete Domenici, Thad Cochran, Richard Shelby, Russell D. 
           Feingold, Ron Wyden.
         Tom Harkin, Debbie Stabenow, Daniel Inouye, Frank R. 
           Lautenberg, Mark Pryor, ------ ------, Zell Miller, 
           Paul Sarbanes, Mike Crapo, John Warner, Harry Reid, 
           Jeff Sessions, Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Jack Reed, E. 
           Benjamin Nelson, Barbara A. Mikulski, ------ ------, 
           Ted Kennedy, Patrick Leahy, Jim Jeffords.
         Herb Kohl, Joseph Lieberman, Chris Dodd, Tom Carper, Carl 
           Levin, Barbara Boxer, Bill Nelson, Mary L. Landrieu, 
           Daniel K. Akaka, Judd Gregg.

  Mr. SPECTER. I thank the Chair and thank my colleague from New 
Mexico, who has been waiting patiently, or at least waiting, and yield 
the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico is recognized.

                          ____________________