Continued Dumping or Subsidy Offset Act of 1997

Summary: Continued Dumping or Subsidy Offset Act of 1997 - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to declare that, whenever continued dumping or subsidization is found to exist by the administering authority or by operation of law, any duties assessed shall be distributed as continued dumping or subsidy offsets to the affected domestic producers for qualifying expenditures on an annual basis. 
Limits qualifying expenditures to expenditures incurred since the issuance of the antidumping duty finding or order or countervailing duty order in any or all of the categories of plant, equipment, research and development, personnel training, acquisition of technology, employer-paid employee health care and pension benefits, and environmental equipment, training and-or technology. 
Directs the Commissioner of the U.S. Customs Service to prescribe offset disbursement procedures.  Sets forth general procedures for notification of eligible parties. 
Requires the Commissioner to establish a special account in the Treasury to receive all antidumping or countervailing duties, including interest, for distribution according to this Act, within 14 days after an antidumping or countervailing duty order takes effect.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Continued Dumping or Subsidy Offset 
Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS OF CONGRESS.

    The Congress finds that:
            (a) Consistent with our WTO rights, injurious dumping is to 
        be condemned and that actionable subsidies which cause injury 
        to domestic industries must be effectively neutralized.
            (b) United States unfair trade laws have as their purpose 
        the restoration of conditions of fair trade so that jobs and 
        investment that should be in the United States are not lost 
        through false market signals.
            (c) The continued dumping or subsidization of imported 
        product after the issuance of antidumping orders or findings or 
        countervailing duty orders can frustrate the remedial purpose 
        of the laws by preventing market prices from returning to fair 
        levels.
            (d) Where dumping or subsidization continues, domestic 
        producers will be reluctant to reinvest or rehire and may be 
        unable to maintain pension and health care benefits that 
        conditions of fair trade would permit.
            (e) United States trade laws should be strengthened to see 
        that the remedial purpose is achieved in fact.

SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE TARIFF ACT OF 1930.

    (a) In General.--Title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930 is amended by 
adding section 752:

``SEC. 752. CONTINUED DUMPING OR SUBSIDY OFFSET.

    ``(a) In General.--Whenever continued dumping or subsidization is 
found to exist by the administering authority under section 751(a) of 
this Act or by operation of law, any duties assessed shall be 
distributed to the affected domestic producers for qualifying 
expenditures on an annual basis. Such disbursement shall be known as 
the `continued dumping or subsidy offset'.
    ``(b) Definitions.--As used in this section:
            ``(1) The term `affected domestic producer' means any 
        manufacturer, producer, or worker representative that was a 
        petitioner or interested party in support of the petition with 
        respect to which an antidumping duty finding or order or 
        countervailing duty order has been entered and remains in 
        operation. Companies or businesses that have ceased the 
        production of the product covered by the order or finding or 
        who have been acquired by a company or business that is related 
        to a company that opposed the investigation shall not be an 
        affected domestic producer.
            ``(2) The term `Commissioner' means the Commissioner of the 
        United States Customs Service.
            ``(3) The term `Commission' means the United States 
        International Trade Commission.
            ``(4) The term `qualifying expenditure' means expenditures 
        incurred since the issuance of the antidumping duty finding or 
        order or countervailing duty order in any or all of the 
        following categories:
                    ``(i) plant;
                    ``(ii) equipment;
                    ``(iii) R&D;
                    ``(iv) personnel training;
                    ``(v) acquisition of technology;
                    ``(vi) health care benefits to employees paid for 
                by the employer;
                    ``(vii) pension benefits to employees paid for by 
                the employer;
                    ``(viii) environmental equipment, training and/or 
                technology.
    ``(c) Disbursement Procedures.--The Commissioner shall prescribe 
procedures for disbursement of the continued dumping or subsidies 
offset required by this section provided that disbursement shall occur 
for monies assessed during one fiscal year of the United States at the 
latest within sixty days after the beginning of the next fiscal year.
    ``(d) Parties Eligible for Distribution of Antidumping and/or 
Countervailing Duties Assessed.--
            ``(1) The Commission shall forward to the Commissioner 
        within sixty days of the effective date of this section or 
        within sixty days of the issuance of an antidumping or 
        countervailing duty order after the effective date of this 
        section a list of petitioners and those companies that indicate 
        support of the petition by letter or through questionnaire 
        response. Where no injury test was required or where the 
        Commission's records do not permit an identification of those 
        in support of a petition the Commission shall consult with the 
        Department of Commerce to determine the identity of the 
        petitioner and those domestic parties who have entered 
        appearances during administrative reviews conducted by Commerce 
        and sought vigorous enforcement of United States law.
            ``(2) The Commissioner shall publish in the Federal 
        Register at least thirty days prior to the issuance of payments 
        a notice of intention to distribute duty assessments, the list 
        of companies eligible based on the list obtained from the 
        Commission and shall request a certification from each 
        recipient as to (a) desire to receive distribution, (b) 
        continued eligibility as an affected domestic producer, and (c) 
        the qualifying expenditures incurred since the issuance of the 
        order for which distribution under this section has not 
        previously been made.
            ``(3) The Commissioner shall distribute all funds 
        (including all interest earned) from assessments received in 
        the completed fiscal year to affected domestic producers based 
        on the affirmative responses to subparagraph (2) on a pro rata 
        basis based on new and remaining qualifying expenditures.
    ``(e) Special Accounts.--
            ``(1) Within fourteen days of the effective date of this 
        provision for outstanding antidumping orders and findings or 
        for outstanding countervailing duty orders or within fourteen 
        days of the date an antidumping or countervailing duty order 
        takes effect, the Commissioner shall establish in the Treasury 
        of the United States a special account with respect to that 
        order or finding.
            ``(2) The Commissioner shall have deposited into the 
        special accounts all antidumping or countervailing duties, 
        including interest on such duties, that are assessed under the 
        antidumping order or finding or the countervailing duty order 
        with respect to which the account was established since the 
        effective date of this section.
            ``(3) The monies in a special account shall be available 
        for distribution to the extent of actual assessment (including 
        interest).
            ``(4) Consistent with the requirements of paragraph (c), 
        the Commissioner shall by regulation prescribe the time and 
        manner in which distribution of funds from special accounts 
        will be made.
            ``(5) The special accounts will remain in existence until 
        all entries relating to an order which has been terminated are 
        liquidated and duties assessed collected and the Commissioner 
        has provided one last notice of opportunity to obtain 
        distribution pursuant to paragraph (c). Amounts unclaimed 
        within 90 days of the time of such final distribution shall be 
        turned over to the general Treasury.''
    (b) Effective Date.--The continued antidumping or subsidy offset 
will apply with regard to all assessments made on or after October 1, 
1996, on outstanding antidumping findings or orders or countervailing 
duty orders.