Coble praises ITC Furniture Ruling

Washington, Dec 10 -

The cochairman of the Congressional Furnishings Caucus is praising a federal ruling today that China has harmed the U.S. furniture industry by illegally dumping its cheap, wooden bedroom furniture products in this market. U.S. Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC), said the ruling by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) confirmed what he and other furniture state lawmakers have been saying for quite some time.

“Any fair-minded person who studied the situation at all would reach the same conclusion,” Rep. Coble stated, “namely that China has been flooding the U.S. market with cheap furniture to the detriment of our domestic furniture manufacturers and workers. Our furniture workers and companies can compete with anyone when the playing field is level. China has obviously tilted that playing field by unfairly – and now proved illegally – selling its wooden bedroom furniture at below fair-market prices. The Caucus had written to both the ITC and the Commerce Department arguing that the Asian nation was dumping its products, and I am delighted that all six ITC commissioners agreed with us and ruled against China.”

Congressman Coble said the case against China has not been a case of first impression. “This illegal dumping has been occurring for years,” Coble noted. “From 2000 to 2003, Chinese wooden bedroom exports to the U.S. jumped by 224 percent or by about $1 billion. The U.S. Commerce Department ruled that the average dumping margin found in Chinese products ranged from a low of 9% to as high as 198%.”

Now that the ITC has ruled against China, Rep. Coble said the last piece of the puzzle will be the final order that the federal government must issue. “Commerce officials have confirmed to us that they expect to issue a final order by December 17,” Rep. Coble concluded. “As one of the representatives for High Point, the Furniture Capital of the World, I am pleased that we have been successful in our efforts to make the case against Chinese dumping. We eagerly await the final order by the Commerce Department so we can return some fairness to our domestic furniture workers and their employers.”