RSS
December 14, 2011 – Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson welcomed a decision today by the Canadian government to reverse course and not impose a new 14-percent tariff on U.S. bedding products, which would have jeopardized jobs in Nebraska.
“It is good news for Nebraska that Canada won’t add a new burdensome tariff to American made bedding materials because it will preserve jobs in our state,” said Senator Nelson, who had raised concerns about the issue with U.S. and Canadian officials. “The tariff would have delivered an unfair blow to U.S.-based bedding product manufacturers, including a plant that has operated in Nebraska for 30 years.”
Canada had planned to impose the 14-percent tariff effective January 1, 2012 under the North American Free Trade Agreement. It would effectively halt exports of more than $100 million in U.S. exports and jeopardize 1,500 jobs in six states, including the jobs of 124 Nebraskans who work at a bedding products plant in Wayne.
Last week, Sen. Nelson met with Pacific Coast Feather Co. officials, which operates the plant in Wayne and in the states of California, North Carolina, Iowa, Illinois and Washington. On Monday, December 12th, Nelson wrote to U.S. trade officials raising concern about the impact on U.S. jobs from the new tariff.
Today, Nelson also raised his concerns directly in a meeting with Canada’s Ambassador to the United States, Gary Doer, and requested that the ambassador help resolve this situation surrounding the proposed tariff on U.S. bedding products.
A few hours later, Ambassador Doer called Nelson to say the issue was being addressed, and soon after the Canadian embassy notified Pacific Coast that the tariff would not be imposed. A Canadian embassy official wrote in an email to Pacific Coast: “It is our understanding that this…will allow stuffed bed linens made in the U.S. or Mexico using imported fabric shells to be imported into Canada tariff-free under NAFTA.”
Cindy Sherman, plant manager of the Wayne facility said: “We greatly appreciate the work of Senator Nelson as well as the work of other Congressional and Administrative officials in helping to reverse the Canadian Customs Border Services Agency (CBSA) decision to impose duties on U.S. bedding products. This will allow Pacific Coast Feather Company to continue to be a leader in the bedding industry and enable our workforce in Wayne, NE to thrive.”
Canada had planned to impose the tariff under NAFTA on exports of comforters and other bedding products due to a determination by the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) that the American products no longer meet a NAFTA rule of origin.
Pacific Coast disputed the Canadian action as contradictory to long-standing U.S. and European Union customs rulings. According to the company, it has exported bedding products made in the U.S. to Canada tariff-free under NAFTA since 1995.
The 14-percent tariff could effectively have driven Pacific Coast and other U.S. producers out of the Canadian market, costing U.S. jobs and exports.
“The U.S. and Canada are one and another’s top trading partners because they have used NAFTA effectively to remove barriers and create a level playing field where U.S. and Canadian producers compete fairly and openly,” said Nelson. “Resolving this issue will preserve important U.S. jobs, while maintaining free and fair trade between our countries.”
###