A loophole of antidumping- wooden bedroom furniture

U.S.- China trade rose rapidly after the two nations signed a bilateral trade agreement in July 1979 after establishing diplomatic relations in January of that year. Concluding the mutual most favored-nation treatment in 1980 spurs to increase their relations further. The Chin’s cheap labor costs and its currency peg have made possible for Chinese exports to the U.S. cheaper. Therefore, China has been a large source of products especially labor-intensive products for the U.S. However, these comparative advantages cause various kinds of disputes between the U.S. and China. A report of Ikenson describes one of the disputes in wooden bedroom furniture trade between the U.S. and China.
In recent years, the export of bedroom furniture from China has increased rapidly due to the development Chinese furniture industry. The Chinese share of the product in the U.S. increased 24 % in 2000 to 49% in 2004[1]. However, on the other hand, this fact caused 34,000 Americans to lose their jobs since 2001 to 2003[2]. As a result of that, in October 2003, a group of about 30 U.S. furniture makers accused China exports wooden bedroom furniture with illegal dumping on the U.S. market[3]. Then, on December 11th, the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) formally placed the claim on file for antidumping investigation[4].
Even though the petitioners argue that the U.S. furniture industry is being hurt by Chinese imports, the cause is suspicious. The majority of these exporters were cultivated by the U.S. producers in 1990s. For example, Vaughan-Bassett Furniture Company, one of the largest U.S. producers and a petitioner, invited one of the largest Chinese producers in the late 1990s. After traveling China and seeing infrastructure there, Vaughan-Bassett Furniture Company thought that it can still sell the furniture made in China less than those made in the U.S due to cheaper labor cost in China. In other words, the voluntary actions of American furniture companies have injured themselves[5].
Even though DOC knew this fact, antidumping investigation has continued. In the conclusion of the article, Ikenson mentions that this case is a perfect example how high quality and low production costs can be used as an evidence of disputes between the U.S. and China and how antidumping rules are abused for commercial gain.

[1] Office of Public Affairs. Preliminary Determination of Antidumping Duty Investigation: Wooden Bedroom Furniture From the People's Republic of China. 18 June 2004. 11 Mar. 2007 .
[2] "US Restriction on China's Furniture Unreasonable." People\'s Daily 16 Dec. 2003. 11 Mar. 2007 .
[3] "U.S. to Launch Dumping Probe." Greensboro News Record 12 Dec. 2003. ProQuest. 11 Mar. 2007 .
[4] Ibid 2.
[5] Ikenson, Dan. Poster Child for Reform: the Antidumping Case on Bedroom Furniture From China. Center For Trade Policy Studies. enter For Trade Policy Studies, 2004. 11 Mar. 2007 .