The Association of Food Industries commends the Senate, House of Representatives and the president passing and signing the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, which will result in the repeal of the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Act, also known as the Byrd Amendment.

The Byrd Amendment was an egregious trade policy, a law passed without proper deliberation by Congressional committees that benefited a select few companies at the expense of many companies and millions of consumers.

Prior to the Byrd Amendment, antidumping and countervailing duties collected on product imported to the U.S. went to the general treasury. Through the Byrd Amendment, those funds were made available to companies that filed or supported the antidumping and/or countervailing duty petitions. The law doubled the impact of the duties at the expense of U.S. companies importing a wide range of products, ironically creating a subsidy for a select group of U.S. firms through misuse of a law designed to offset subsidies and unfair pricing practices.

AFI was a leading voice in calls for the Byrd Amendment’s repeal. “There’s no question this law had to go,” said AFI President Bob Bauer. “The World Trade Organization said it was illegal, our trading partners were up in arms, some U.S. exports were being subjected to retaliatory duties and all of us were paying a lot more for many products than we should have. We just wish the repeal could have come sooner and could have been immediate.”

According to the language of the Byrd Amendment repeal, companies will continue to receive Byrd Amendment pay-outs on entries made prior to September 30, 2007.

The Association of Food Industries, formed in 1906, is a trade association representing the interests of the food import industry and select domestic products. It is comprise of a Processed Food Section, Nut & Agricultural Products Section, the North American Olive Oil Association, the National Honey Packers and Dealers Association and domestic and foreign associate member sections.