SUNUNU INTRODUCES BILL TO PROTECT GOSS IN TRADE DISPUTE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                    CONTACT: RILEY/CHAMBERLAIN

8/1/08                                                                          (Sununu) 202-224-2841

                                                                                     WUEBKER/FALLON

                                                                                    (Gregg) 202-224-3324

SUNUNU INTRODUCES BILL TO PROTECT GOSS IN TRADE DISPUTE

Gregg co-sponsors legislation to nullify Japanese government’s retaliatory actions in anti-dumping court case

WASHINGTON, DC – United States Senator John Sununu (R-NH) has introduced legislation (S. 3394) to protect Goss International Corporation in its ongoing antidumping trade dispute with a Japanese competitor, Tokyo Kikai Seiskusho (TKS).   Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH) co-sponsored the legislation, which would effectively nullify retaliatory actions taken by the Japanese government in Goss’s anti-dumping lawsuit against TKS.

In 2003, Goss International, which employs nearly 1,000 at its Dover and Durham, New Hampshire locations, won a $31.6 million court judgment in an anti-dumping lawsuit against TKS, but the Japanese government instituted a “claw back” provision to make Goss’s Japanese subsidiary repay the judgment.

“The claw back statute represents a harmful trade precedence, and the U.S. needs to respond forcefully and appropriately if the Japanese government insists on following its current course of action,” said Sununu. “My bill will provide new tools to stop any effort to use the claw back statute against Goss, in a case where the Japanese government has tried to unfairly and inappropriately protect a Japanese company found guilty of fraudulent practices.  While U.S. markets remain open and free, U.S. companies need to know that our trade laws will be enforced against unscrupulous players – whether domestic or foreign.  I am confident that when our Senate colleagues fully learn of the fight faced by Goss, this bill will move very quickly.”

Senator Gregg stated, “It is critical for Goss International, its workers in New Hampshire, and for anyone who believes in fair trade, that foreign companies which have broken our trade laws be brought to justice.  TKS has been found guilty in our courts and ordered to pay over $30 million in damages and the Japanese government should not be allowed to nullify this judgment through retaliatory acts that are solely intended to subvert our rule of law.  This legislation will help ensure that our laws are enforced in spite of the Japanese government’s unfortunate actions and will go a long way to ensure fair play among our global trading partners.  I look forward to working with Senator Sununu and other members of Congress to help move this bill and protect not only our trade laws, but also the hundreds of manufacturing jobs at Goss.”

Sununu’s legislation prevents a foreign court’s judgment relating to the Antidumping Act of 1916 from being enforced against a U.S. company or its affiliate in any federal or state court, while also providing a legal remedy in U.S. court if the  American company is forced to comply with a foreign court’s judgment.  In those cases, the cause of action would be liable against the foreign defendant that received damages under the foreign court’s judgment.  Together, these provisions would effectively nullify any effort by TKS to use the claw back statute enacted by the Japanese government. 

The dispute between Goss and TKS dates back to a 1996 determination by the U.S. government that foreign printing press manufacturers, TKS in particular, had dumped printing press equipment in the U.S., selling it at less than half its normal value.  Based on the 1996 determination, Goss won a $31.6 million judgment in a jury trial against TKS in 2003, although the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals later ruled that the District Court did not have jurisdiction to order TKS to cease action under Japan’s claw back statute.