SCHUMER: REVERE COPPER OF CENTRAL NY COULD BE ONE OF MANY UPSTATE NEW YORK COMPANIES NEGATIVELY IMPACTED BY CHEAP FOREIGN IMPORTS – CALLS ON FEDS TO KEEP PROTECTIONS IN PLACE FOR NY MANUFACTURERS & JOBS
Schumer Urges Dept. of Commerce to Protect NY Companies like Revere Copper in Rome Against Dumping of Artificially Cheap Foreign Goods, That Would Unfairly Compete with Domestic Producers that Play By the Rules
Schumer Urges Feds to Reverse Course From New Potential Policy that Would Restrict Protections Against ‘Targeted Dumping’ - The Process When Foreign Countries Attempt to Disguise Their Unfairly Priced Imports by Dumping Them into Particular Places or At Certain Times
Schumer: Federal Regs Should Protect, Not Hurt, Central NY Manufacturers
Yesterday, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer called on the Department of Commerce (DOC) to reverse course in their consideration of a new antidumping policy that could have a negative impact on Upstate New York’s manufacturing industry, including companies like Revere Copper Products, Inc.in Rome, NY. Specifically, this potential change would restrict the effectiveness of trade laws that protect domestic manufacturers from an influx of artificially cheap goods in the marketplace.
Schumer noted that Revere Copper, among hundreds of other companies in New York, would have to compete with artificially low-cost foreign copper and other products if this federal policy goes into effect. Revere and others are playing by the rules, but the practice of “targeted dumping” hamstrings numerous American companies from competing against cheaper foreign imports. Revere estimates that if the methodology is changed it could negatively impact the company and could be detrimental to production and sales in Central New York.
“Federal regulations should protect Upstate New York manufacturers like Revere in Central New York, and should not force them to compete with artificially cheap foreign imports,” said Schumer. “I have urged the Department of Commerce to strongly consider the devastating impact a proposed antidumping policy would have on Central New York’s copper industry, including Revere in Rome, in addition to other domestic companies. Revere employs 350 people in Rome who rely on the federal government to prevent illegal importing practices such as targeted dumping, and I will continue to fight on their behalf.”
“Revere couldn’t agree more with Senator Schumer’s push to prevent other countries from dumping their cheap imports into our U.S. markets. The Department of Commerce should heed the Senator’s call and take a stand against foreign imports that seek to undermine American business, American jobs and American quality,” said Brian O’Shaughnessy, Chairman of Revere Copper. “This is an important issue for Central New York but also one for our nation. The Department of Commerce needs to ensure a fair playing field exists to compete, no more and no less.”
Antidumping duties on imports of copper are in place to help level the playing field for U.S. manufacturers and are intended to counter the economic harm caused by predatory pricing. Anti-dumping duties have gone a long way towards protecting U.S. copper manufacturers, including Revere Copper Products, from further harm, and in keeping manufacturing jobs in this industry in the United States and in the state of New York.
Dumping is when a foreign company imports their goods into the United States below fair market value. To correct for dumping, the Commerce Department calculates the difference between the domestic price of a product and the price in the exporter’s home country, and then levies a duty at import to bring the price of the imported good up to fair value.
Targeted dumping occurs when foreign producers, like those in China, try to mask its dumping or artificially cheap goods into the United States by “targeting” the dumping, based on selected customers, regions, or seasons. The producer sells at much lower prices to these targeted buyers, regions or time periods and at higher prices to others in order to hide their dumping of cheap goods into the U.S. market. Both U.S. law and the WTO Antidumping Agreement allow the Department of Commerce to identify and correct for targeted dumping.
As one of the nation’s first manufacturing companies, Revere Copper Products, Inc. has been meeting America’s copper needs since 1801. Revere Copper not only provides custom-made copper products to customers across America, but their market extends around the globe. Setting the industry standard as North America’s leading producer of roofing copper, Revere offers architectural support to contractors, design engineers and architects. Revere’s manufacturing center in Rome creates products for markets including architecture, telecommunications, electrical, transportation and power generation.
Commerce is considering changing the process for determining damages to make the test for targeting more difficult, and narrowing its application by making the adjustment only to the targeted sales, and not to all sales. This would fail to unmask the dumping, and greatly reduce the effectiveness of the dumping laws for U.S. producers. If such changes were implemented, they would result in a serious weakening of the law’s ability to address injurious dumping, by permitting significant instances of dumping to be hidden by higher priced sales.