For Immediate Release: May 5, 2011
Contact: Cory Churches (202) 482-3809
Enforcing America's Trade Remedy laws is Focus of Import Administration Official's Testimony
Deputy Assistant Secretary Ronald Lorentzen Highlights Anti-Circumvention Efforts
WASHINGTON – In testimony before the Senate Committee on Finance’s Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness today, Ronald K. Lorentzen, deputy assistant secretary for Import Administration at the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration discussed the department’s efforts to alleviate evasion of antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) laws by foreign exporters.
“Commerce continues to work closely with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on enforcement issues,” Lorentzen said. “Cooperation among Commerce, CBP, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Justice has resulted in indictments, convictions, and prison sentences for evaders of antidumping and countervailing duty orders.”
“Commerce’s role in detecting and deterring the circumvention of antidumping and countervailing duties is addressed in Section 781 of the Tariff Act of 1930. Commerce may conduct circumvention inquiries when it is alleged that minor alterations are being made to subject merchandise in order to evade AD/CVD orders.”
The Import Administration is the International Trade Administration’s unit in charge of enforcing trade laws and agreements to prevent unfairly traded imports and to safeguard jobs and the competitive strength of American industry.
The full text of Deputy Assistant Secretary Lorentzen’s testimony is at www.trade.gov/press/testimony.
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International Trade Administration
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