Trade Adjustment Assistance
The Commerce Department's trade adjustment assistance helps firms that have been harmed by imported products to adjust to international competition. Companies eligible for trade adjustment assistance may receive technical consulting to upgrade operations such as product engineering, marketing, information systems, export promotion, and energy management. The federal government may assume up to 75 percent of the cost of these services.
Trade Remedy Assistance
The Trade Remedy Assistance Office, part of the U.S. International Trade Commission, will provide continuing technical assistance and legal support to certified small businesses pursuing remedies under the international trade laws. For instance, selling merchandise in another country at a price below the price at which the same merchandise is sold in the home market, or selling such merchandise below the costs incurred in production and shipment, is known as dumping. If a U.S. firm is adversely affected by a competitor's practices, a complaint may be filed with the Trade Remedy Assistance Office. In addition to information and assistance on anti-dumping laws, this office also provides remedies on countervailing duty laws (where subsidized foreign goods are sold in the U.S.); intellectual property laws (where articles imported into the U.S. infringe valid patents, trademarks, or copyrights); and investigations of situations where U.S. exports are subject to unfair restrictions in overseas markets.
Port Import Export Reporting Service
Companies interested in finding out about their own market share, a competitor's exports and practices, who's dumping in which ports and cities, or where to find a new source of supply, can request such information from Port Import Export Reporting Service. For a fee, PIERS generates computer reports from original ships' manifests customized to meet an individual company's requirements.
Contact the following agencies for more information:
Trade Adjustment Assistance Division U.S. Department of Commerce 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, Room 7023 Washington, DC 20230 (202) 482-3373
Trade Remedy Assistance Office U.S. International Trade Commission 500 E Street, SW Washington, DC 20436 (202) 343-9822
Ed Dear PIERS 2 World Trade Center, Suite 2750 New York, NY 10048 (800) 223-0243 or (212) 837-7051