"Reinstating this provision would subject the United States' most competitive farm and manufactured goods exports to substantial retaliation in foreign markets," the groups said in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican.

It also would undermine the United States' ability to persuade other countries to live up to their WTO obligations, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable, National Association of Manufacturers, National Pork Producers Council, National Cattlemen's Beef Association and other groups said.

Congress repealed the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act, also known as the Byrd amendment, in 2005 after a WTO dispute settlement panel said it violated global trade rules and gave the European Union and 10 other U.S. trading partners permission to hike duties on U.S. exports.

The provision was nicknamed for Sen. Robert Byrd, a West Virginia Democrat who played a leading role in its enactment in 2000. The measure required the U.S. government to distribute money raised by duties slapped on "unfairly" priced imports to U.S. companies that had requested the curbs.

Critics complained the program provided a double remedy to U.S. companies -- one in the form of the duties and the other in the form of the cash payment -- and encouraged them to make more requests for anti-dumping and countervailing duties than they otherwise would.

Byrd and other supporters argued U.S. companies damaged by unfair trading practices should be able to use the money to become more competitive.

In their letter, the business groups said they were concerned by proposals in the Senate to reinstate the provision and urged Reid and McConnell to hold the line against that.

Reuters, Tuesday July 1 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk