"The American residential wood furniture industry has experienced devastating losses due to surges of unfairly priced furniture imports from China," wrote Senator Collins. "One furniture manufacturer in Maine, Moosehead Manufacturing, was forced to eliminate a quarter of its employees due to the unfair market conditions it faces."
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, 34,700 jobs, or 28 percent of the workforce, have been lost in the American furniture industry since 2000. During the same period, wooden bedroom furniture imports from China increased from $169 million to $1.2 billion.
"Unfairly priced imports from China are a leading cause in these job losses. The Chinese government subsidizes its country's furniture manufacturing facilities, allowing those companies to export furniture at a much lower price than American manufacturers are able to offer," said Senator Collins. "I am not seeking ‘protection' against imports, but rather a level playing field. We must put an end to illegal pricing on imports in order to restore true free market conditions in the furniture industry.
"American manufacturers have proven they can compete with anyone, given a fair playing field."
Earlier this month, the International Trade Commission ruled unanimously that Chinese manufacturers of wooden bedroom furniture were dumping their products on the U.S. market and damaging the U.S. industry. The Commerce Department is currently considering an anti-dumping petition filed by the American Furniture Manufacturers' Committee for Legal Trade.