Hundreds of companies eligible for antidumping compensation
U.S. Customs and Border Protection published a list of all U.S. companies eligible to file claims for a share of duties collected by the government on imports identified as being dumped on the U.S. market at artificially low prices.
Under the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act of 2000, better known as the Byrd amendment, the government is required to distribute money collected from antidumping and countervailing duty orders to injured domestic producers rather than placing the funds in the U.S. Treasury.
Customs published the list a month earlier than usual in order to meet the deadline for disbursing the money, which is 60 days from the end of the fiscal year. Customs has been accused of distributing the money too slowly in the past. Companies seeking compensation must file a written claim by Aug. 2.
The amount of money available will not be determined until the agency closes its books Sept. 30.
Customs also has made some managerial fixes to the disbursement program, such as consolidating claims processing in a single office and moving the program to the Office of Finance from the Office of Regulations and Rulings.
For instructions on how to file a claim go to http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/pdf/04-12187.pdf.