U.S. Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Investigation Threats

Brenda A. Jacobs, Attorney, Sidley Austin LLP, Washington D.C.

Textiles & Apparel Committee

To: Members and Fellow Industry Practitioners
From: Peter Liu, AmCham Vice President and
Textiles & Apparel Committee Chair

Brenda A. Jacobs will discuss the threat of U.S. antidumping investigations against apparel and the prospect of countervailing duty cases against countries the United States considers to non-market economies, including the People's Republic of China and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. She will also review the current status and issues surrounding the U.S. import monitoring program against apparel made in Vietnam, including its implications for other Asian suppliers, and the political pressures on the Bush administration to formally open the door to countervailing duty cases against China, which for more than 20 years has been barred on the ground that it is not possible to separately identify subsidies in state-controlled economies.

Well known projects handled by Ms. Jacobs include obtaining a temporary injunction against the U.S. Government that delayed the imposition of safeguard measures against apparel imports from China; coordinating the response of the U.S. importing and retailing community to Bush administration commitment to import monitoring of apparel made in Vietnam; and assisting companies in identifying and reducing their exposure to antidumping and countervailing duties. She also has extensive experience assisting U.S., Asian and Latin American manufacturers in trade negotiations and in meeting U.S. Customs recordkeeping requirements and preparing for production verification visits.