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Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act (Notes)
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2013
CDSOA [Abstract]  
Continued Dumping And Subsidy Offset Act (CDSOA)

CDSOA provides for distribution of monies collected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (U.S. Customs) from antidumping cases to qualifying domestic producers where the domestic producers have continued to invest in their technology, equipment and people. The Company reported CDSOA expense of $2.8 million and income of $108.0 million in 2013 and 2012, respectively.

In September 2002, the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled that CDSOA payments are not consistent with international trade rules. In February 2006, U.S. legislation was enacted that ended CDSOA distributions for dumped imports covered by antidumping duty orders entering the United States after September 30, 2007. Instead, any such antidumping duties collected would remain with the U.S. Treasury. Several countries have objected that this U.S. legislation is not consistent with WTO rulings, and were granted retaliation rights by the WTO, typically in the form of increased tariffs on some imported goods from the United States. The European Union and Japan have been retaliating in this fashion against the operation of U.S. law.

In 2006, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) ruled, in two separate decisions, that the procedure for determining recipients eligible to receive CDSOA distributions was unconstitutional. In addition, several other court cases challenging various provisions of CDSOA were ongoing. As a result, from 2006 through 2010, U.S. Customs withheld a portion of the amounts that would otherwise have been distributed under CDSOA.

In February 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed both of the 2006 decisions of the CIT. Later in December 2009, a plaintiff petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a further appeal, but the Supreme Court declined the petition, allowing the appellate court reversals to stand. At that time, several court cases challenging various provisions of the CDSOA were still unresolved, so U.S. Customs accepted the CIT’s recommendation to continue to withhold CDSOA receipts related to 2006 through 2010 until January 2012.

U.S. Customs began distributing the withheld funds to affected domestic producers in early April 2012. In April 2012, the Company received CDSOA distributions of $112.8 million in the aggregate for amounts originally withheld from 2006 through 2010.

While some of the challenges to CDSOA have been resolved, others are still in litigation. Since there continue to be legal challenges to CDSOA, U.S. Customs has advised all affected domestic producers that it is possible that CDSOA distributions could be subject to clawback. Management of the Company believes that the likelihood of clawback is remote.