Milton Magnus Fights Inequitable Trade

(September, 2024) Milton Magnus, President of M & B Hangers in Leeds, AL was the subject of a story by The Wall Street Journal about his twenty year fight against Chinese manufacturers attempting to circumvent tariffs.

M&B Hangers is one of the last remaining US based manufacturers of steel-wire clothes hangers. Magnus first testified on Chinese hangers in 2003 before a federal agency analyzing trade issues.

The U.S. Commerce Department responded in 2008, by imposing duties of up to 187% on imports of Chinese hangers. Magnus filed an “antidumping” case, alleging that Chinese manufacturers were exporting hangers for less than what they would sell for in China.

However, that was only the beginning. Not long after, Chinese-made hangers began appearing in US ports, shipped from Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, and other Asian countries. Magnus hired private investigators to investigate the shipments. Congress later passed the Enforce and Protect Act, which allows claims of tariff evasion with US Customs and Border Protection against American hanger importers.

“It’s like a roller coaster. We file a trade case, demand for us goes way up, then there’s a new way of circumvention and demand goes down,” Magnus told the Journal.

Milton Magnus has been combating perceived inequitable trade practices from Chinese companies for over 22 years. His ongoing struggle epitomizes the hurdles encountered by numerous American manufacturers, particularly those producing lower-end goods. Read the full article from The Wall Street Journal here (subscription required).