Furniture 'Dumped,' U.S. Rules By Paul Blustein:

The Commerce Department ruled yesterday that Chinese bedroom furniture is being "dumped" in the U.S. market. But the department imposed relatively modest duties on the furniture, a rare departure from a long tradition of slapping stiff penalties on imports in such cases...

"I'm elated by this news," said Dan Ikenson, a trade specialist at the Cato Institute, a libertarian-oriented think tank that has long criticized U.S. dumping laws and Commerce's administration of them. Ikenson voiced hope that the ruling was indicative of a new mindset at Commerce, but he noted, "China's the number one target of anti-dumping cases. New cases have been initiated at a rate of one per month since January 2003."

A paper Ikenson wrote said the furniture case gave a clear example of why the dumping laws need reform. Although U.S. furniture manufacturers were angered that retailers were importing items direct from China, many of the 31 manufacturers that brought the case were themselves importing furniture from countries like the Philippines, Brazil, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Hypocrites.