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Coble Pleased with China Furniture Ruling
"This issue is of vital importance to the U.S. furniture industry"

The co-chairman of the Congressional Furnishings Caucus said he is pleased with today’s ruling that China has been illegally dumping wooden bedroom furniture into the United States. U.S. Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC), who represents High Point, North Carolina, the Furniture Capital of the World, said today’s determination by the U.S. Department of Commerce is an important next step in trying to restore some fairness to furniture trade both home and abroad.

“This is not the final leg of our journey to proving that China has been flooding our market with wooden bedroom furniture,” Rep. Coble stated, “but it is a milestone ruling. It was fairly obvious to anyone who studied the situation that China was dumping bedroom furniture in the U.S. to the detriment of our American workers and manufacturers to gain market access and share. Many American manufacturing jobs have been threatened by this action which has now been ruled to be illegal. I am heartened that the Bush administration has agreed with us by way of today’s announcement. ”

Congressman Coble noted that he and his Congressional Furnishings Caucus co-chairman, U.S. Rep. Mel Watt (D-NC), wrote to Commerce Secretary Don Evans just three days ago to reiterate their support for today’s finding against China. “This issue is of vital importance to the U.S. furniture industry,” Coble and Watt wrote to Secretary Evans. “As you know, more than 35,000 wood furniture workers have lost their jobs in just the last three years. In North Carolina alone, there have been more than 40 major layoffs or plant closings of furniture factories since January of 2000. We urge the Commerce Department to vigorously enforce the law in this important investigation.”

Rep. Coble said he and other members of the Congressional Furnishings Caucus would continue to closely monitor the investigation between now and final determination in December. “I would expect Commerce Department personnel to return to China to do some additional surveying of the industry between now and the end of the year,” Coble concluded. “The margins announced today may not be the final tariffs that will be imposed upon those Chinese manufacturers who have been charged with illegal dumping of bedroom furniture into the U.S. While today’s ruling was welcomed, we must continue to be vigilant in our efforts to protect American furniture jobs.”

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