Schumer, Clinton: Syracuse Candle Industry Hit Hard By Unfair China Trade Practices

SCHUMER, CLINTON: SYRACUSE CANDLE INDUSTRY HIT HARD BY UNFAIR CHINA TRADE PRACTICES

Muench-Kreuzer, Will & Baumer, Cathedral Candle Companies Alleged Chinese Incorrectly Claimed Products to Avoid Paying Antidumping Duties

National Candle Association Petitioned U.S. Department of Commerce; Waiting for Inquiry to be Considered, Remedied

Senators Schumer and Clinton Urge Feds to Protect Central New York Candle Manufacturers

U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton today urged the U.S. Department of Commerce to take immediate action on allegations that imported Chinese candles are evading the Antidumping Duty Order and hurting the Syracuse candle industry. The National Candle Association has submitted a petition, along with several candle companies in Syracuse, alleging that candles imported from China claim to be primarily composed of palm and vegetable based wax, when the primary ingredient is petroleum wax. This would allow China to avoid the 108.3 percent antidumping duty rate imposed on petroleum wax candles by the Department of Commerce.

"Nobody knows better than the people of Central New York how the Chinese don't play by the rules, especially when it comes to trade," Schumer said. "This is yet another example of Syracuse being devastated by China's unfair trade practices. It is vitally important that the Department of Commerce take a particularly close look at the petition before them."

"The American candle-making industry began in Syracuse and this state has a proud heritage of producing some of the world's most beautiful candles. With the U.S. market already suffering, cheap imports are driving prices down and depressing the local industry even further," Senator Clinton said. "China must not be allowed to continue to circumvent foreign trade practices in this way."

Syracuse used to be one of the world's prime producers of candles, yet their market has steadily declined since the early 1980s - primarily due to Chinese trade practices. Muench-Kreuzer, Will & Baumer, and the Cathedral Candle Companies, all located in Syracuse, have alleged that the Chinese have successfully avoided paying antidumping duties on petroleum candles. Continued circumvention of the Antidumping Duty Order will cause irreparable harm to these companies and to domestic candle producers in general.

In a letter to U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez, Schumer and Clinton wrote, "In a world where the Chinese do not always play by the rules, it is important to ensure a remedy when they engage in unfair trade practices. We urge you to take under careful consideration of the inquiry issued by the National Candle Association, which merely seeks a determination whether the Order is being circumvented. If it is found that the Antidumping Duty Order is being circumvented, we urge you to proceed in accordance with the law."

According to the National Candle Association, the Chinese candle producers and U.S. importers have engaged in widespread and aggressive efforts to circumvent the Antidumping Duty Order on petroleum wax candles from China. Since 1998, the wide-spread efforts by China producers and U.S. importers have more than tripled the import of Chinese candles that should be subject to the Antidumping Duty Order, based on their composition.

Click here to view letter -
http://schumer.senate.gov/SchumerWebsite/pressroom/Letters/2005/06.23.05%20Syracuse%20Candle%20ltr..pdf

Source: http://schumer.senate.gov/SchumerWebsite/pressroom/press_releases/2005/PR41742.SyracuseCandle.062305.html