Washington, DC—United States Senators Shelby (AL), Vitter (LA), and Byrd (WV) have expressed support for vigorous investigation of apparent problems in the recent distributions of antidumping duties pursuant to the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act (“CDSOA” or “Byrd Amendment”).
At a recent meeting between SSA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) officials, SSA identified for CBP a series of apparent problems in the certifications for distributions, including excessive claims, obvious disqualifying factors, and potentially fraudulent claims. SSA also noted obvious errors by CBP in compiling the certifications and making distributions. CBP recognized that a number of problems are evident in the distributions and stated that it will verify certifications filed by the domestic shrimp industry.
In meetings with the Senators and their staffs, SSA expressed its concerns that CBP take prompt action to assure accurate, fair, and equitable distributions under CDSOA. Each has expressed strong support for SSA’s objectives and will encourage CBP to take appropriate action.
SSA encourages its members and anyone else with information regarding potential fraud or abuse of the Byrd distribution claims or process to provide it directly to CBP or to the SSA.
Confusion regarding what constitutes a valid qualified expenditure, excessive claims, or fraud, must not be allowed to diminish the CDSOA funds to be distributed to deserving domestic producers.