The trade provision, established in 2001, collected duties on certain imported goods and then gave the cash back to U.S. producers and/or companies who could prove the imports were illegally subsidized or sold to them at less than fair value.

The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) applauded the repeal of the Byrd Amendment, which will expire Sept. 30, 2007.

The NPPC contends under the amendment “the U.S. trade agenda was being undermined and the financial interests of U.S. pork producers jeopardized.”

Countries retaliated against the U.S. Byrd Amendment by slapping tariffs on U.S. exports, including farm products.

Canada invoked a 15 percent retaliatory duty on live U.S. hogs exports, an example of how the foreign-imposed markups have made it more difficult for U.S. producers to sell their goods across national borders and still make a profit.

Edwin Feulner, trade analyst with the Heritage Foundation, an East Coast think tank, said although the Byrd Amendment was designed to prevent other countries from dumping their products into the United States, it produced a “perverse incentive.”

Source: TruthAboutTrade