Senate Approves Duty Aid for Companies

The Senate gave final approval to legislation giving American steel makers and other companies the proceeds of duties imposed on their foreign competitors, despite warnings by the European Union that it could spark a World Trade Organization dispute. The duties, imposed by the U.S. government on Japanese, European and other foreign producers accused of dumping their products on the U.S. market at below fair-market value, total about $40 million a year. The measure, spearheaded by West Virginia Democratic Sen. Robert C. Byrd, was part of a broader agricultural spending bill, which won Senate approval 86 to 8. It was backed by the House of Representatives on Oct. 11. Though the White House opposes the Byrd provision, officials said President Clinton would sign the spending bill. Byrd and his backers argued that the measure was needed to help a wide range of cash-strapped industries, from steel producers to ranchers to apple growers. But U.S. trade officials argued that the Byrd measure was ill-conceived and could spark new trade fights in the Geneva-based WTO between Washington and major trading partners, including the EU and Japan.