| On October 31, the American Furniture Manufacturers Committee for Legal Trade filed an antidumping petition to address a surge of imported wooden bedroom furniture from China. The U.S. International Trade Commission must reach a preliminary determination by December 15, 2003 and deliver its views to the Department of Commerce within five business days.
Between 1999 and 2002, imports of wooden bedroom furniture from China increased from $170 million to $818 million. Many domestic furniture manufacturers, particularly in North Carolina, have had to reduce work forces, close plants, and in some cases, relocate manufacturing to China and Southeast Asia. According to the Department of Labor, the U.S. wood furniture industry’s labor force decreased 25 percent over the last three years. |
