| New World Pasta Company
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17112
February 7, 2007
Committee on Ways and Means
The United States House of Representatives
1102 Longworth H.O.B.
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear
Sir/Madam:
On behalf of New World Pasta Company, we hereby
respond to the January 31, 2007 Advisory from the Committee on Ways and Means
soliciting comments, by February 7, 2007, on the Commerce Department’s proposed
modification to its calculation of weighted-average dumping margins in
antidumping investigations. Congress should vigorously oppose the Commerce
Department’s decision to end its long-standing practice of “zeroing,” which
will eviscerate the principal tool available to U.S. manufacturers and
producers to combat unfair trade practices.
The Commerce Department, on December 27, 2006,
notified Congress that it would implement the World Trade Organization’s Appellate
Body ruling banning Commerce’s practice of “zeroing.” The Commerce Department
stated that it would, effective February 22, 2007, begin to offset positive
dumping margins (sales that were not dumped) against sales with negative
dumping margins (sales that were dumped), when calculating the weighted-average
dumping margin in antidumping investigations. In other words, Commerce will no
longer set positive dumping margins to “zero” when calculating overall margins
of dumping. The effect of this change to U.S. law will be to reduce generally and/or
eliminate margins of dumping in investigations, and to mask or eliminate dumped
sales by foreign exporters.
Congress must oppose the Commerce’s Department’s inappropriate
concession on this issue. First, Congress has given the Administration
explicit instructions in the context of the Doha Round of trade negotiations to
defend the practice of zeroing; those negotiations are ongoing. Second, Congress,
not Commerce, is the proper body for making laws. For many years, the Commerce
Department argued before the Courts that it was statutorily required to
zero in investigations. While the Courts have stated that Commerce has some
discretion in this matter, Commerce changed its view only when it became
apparent that the WTO intended to ban improperly the practice of zeroing. The
Department should not alter course because of an adverse WTO ruling that fails
to address significant evidentiary findings by the lower panel, relies on novel
findings by reference to evidence not before the Appellate Body, and that
exceeds the Appellate Body’s authority.
Additionally, in May 9, 2006 comments filed at the
WTO, the Administration noted “disturbing” aspects of the WTO ruling,
including that (1) it would be “extraordinary” for Members to have negotiated
specific language in the Antidumping Agreement now rendered superfluous by the Appellate
Body ruling; (2) the Appellate Body’s finding that dumping should be measured
for “the product as a whole” reverses 47 years of WTO jurisprudence finding
that dumping should be measured “in respect of each single importation of the
product;” and (3) that the ruling banning the practice of zeroing was never
agreed to by Member States in the Uruguay Round or previous trade agreement
negotiations.
Congress is empowered to make U.S. laws, not the WTO. Commerce’s reversal of its long-standing practice of zeroing is tantamount
to yielding that authority to others. As such, Congress should require the
Commerce Department to continue its zeroing practice when calculating
antidumping duty margins in investigations.
On behalf of New World Pasta Company, and its
employees throughout the country, I thank you for your attention to this
important matter.
Very
truly yours,
Cary A. Metz
Senior
Vice President and General Counsel
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