U.S. Producers of Plastic Grocery and Shopping Bags Applaud Investigation and Conviction of Importers Engaged in Illegal Circumvention of Antidumping

(KansasCity.com)

Owners of a Chicago-area importer, S&P Plastics, Inc., were sentenced last month for their role in defrauding U.S. Customs and failing to pay antidumping duties on imports of plastic grocery and shopping bags (referred to as polyethylene retail carrier bags, or “PRCBs”) from China. Young Seung Shin and Peili Ding admitted to falsely declaring certain entries of shopping bags as not subject to an antidumping order on PRCBs from China. The two were sentenced to prison terms of six months and twelve months, respectively, and are subject to additional fines and forfeiture of $182,871 attributable to the lost duties. In addition, the government seized all containers of the bags at issue that had not yet cleared Customs.

These convictions arose out of a joint investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“Customs”), and were conducted in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois.

Joe Dorn, a partner at the law firm of King & Spalding and counsel to the PRCB Committee, an ad hoc coalition of U.S. plastic bag manufacturers, applauded the government’s enforcement efforts. “We greatly appreciate the dedication and hard work of ICE, Customs, and the U.S. Attorney in Chicago which resulted in these convictions and which demonstrate that illegal circumvention of antidumping orders on plastic bags will not be tolerated,” said Mr. Dorn. Read more here.

China Slaps Anti-Dumping Duties on US Chicken Imports

(AFP)

China will levy anti-dumping duties of up to 105% on imports of US chicken products, the government said on Sunday, in a move likely to ratchet up trade tensions between the two nations.

“The US chicken industry has dumped broiler products into the Chinese market and caused substantial damage to the domestic industry,” the commerce ministry said in a statement on its website. The duties take effect on Monday, it said.

China will slap anti-dumping levies of over 50% on up to 35 US chicken broiler exporters including Tyson Foods Inc, Keystone Foods LLC, Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation and Sanderson Farms Inc, the statement said. Levies of over 105% will be placed on imported chicken broilers, a type of chicken raised specifically for meat production, from all other US producers, it said. Read more here.

U.S. Commerce Department Proposes Significant Changes to Antidumping/Countervailing Duty Rules

(Lexology – Arent Fox LLP)

It was a long hot summer in Washington, DC, but that did not stop the U.S. Department of Commerce from quietly floating proposals that would significantly alter the landscape in administering U.S. antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) rules. Cloaked in the guise of enhancing U.S. “competitiveness” and supporting the National Export Initiative, these new proposals would make it more difficult for foreign companies, especially those based in so-called non-market economies (e.g., China) to avoid costly AD/CVD measures. The question is, how do these measures do anything to enhance U.S. exports? [...]

A detailed listing of the proposals can be found here. Read more here.

U.S. Manufacturers Welcome Improvements in Trade Practices

(Industry Week)

The ENFORCE Act of 2010 will give the Commerce Department and U.S. Customs and Border Protection new tools to combat illegal schemes to evade special duties.

The Coalition for Enforcement of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Orders applauded a set of 14 proposals released by the U.S. Department of Commerce that would introduce changes in a variety of the agency’s practices.

“These changes will result in more accurate and effective trade orders,” said Joe Downes, spokesperson for the Coalition and Senior Vice President of Leggett & Platt, Inc.

At the same time, the Coalition noted the need for continued efforts to provide Commerce and U.S. Customs and Border Protection with enhanced capabilities and tools to combat illegal schemes to circumvent trade orders once they are in place. Read more here.

U.S. Lays Out Plan to Strengthen Anti-Dumping Regime

(Reuters – Doug Palmer)

The United States on Thursday announced plans to toughen rules against what it sees as unfair foreign trade practices, proposing a number of changes likely to irk China, its biggest import supplier. At least some of the proposals could lead to higher anti-dumping or countervailing duties on goods from the Asian manufacturing giant, the most frequent target of U.S. complaints about unfair trade in recent years.

But the plan seeks to strengthen the effectiveness of U.S. trade protection measures “across a range of areas,” a senior Commerce Department official told Reuters.

With President Barack Obama’s popularity falling and Democrats in danger of losing control of Congress in November elections, the party has been pushing a “Make it in America” agenda aimed at creating U.S. manufacturing jobs.

“Today’s announcement is another demonstration of our continuing efforts to sharpen our trade enforcement tools,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said in a statement. It outlined 14 proposals that increase penalties or toughen requirements on foreign companies that sell goods the United States deems unfairly priced or subsidized.

Although less than 3% of imports into the United States are hit with anti-dumping or countervailing duties, the trade laws can be an important source of protection for sectors such as steel, tires, paper and other industrial goods. Read more here.

WTO Said to Rule Against EU's Policy on Anti-Dumping

(Bloomberg – Jennifer M. Freedman)

The European Union’s method of applying extra duties on imports it considers to be unfairly priced breaks global trade law, the World Trade Organization said, according to a person familiar with the ruling.

WTO judges in Geneva concluded the EU’s policy of imposing a single blanket duty on imports discriminates against Chinese exporters, said the person, who declined to be identified because the ruling is still confidential.

The decision comes a year after China lodged a complaint against the EU over the 27-nation bloc’s plan to impose five- year levies on imports of Chinese iron or steel fasteners, valued at about 575 million euros ($743 million) in 2007. The EU said at the time that the tariffs would “prevent further distortions and restore fair competition.”

The ruling may have broader implications by compelling the EU to begin imposing anti-dumping tariffs on a company-by-company basis. Read more here.

New U.S. Bill Seeks to Improve Trade Remedy Law Enforcement

(Timothy C. Brightbill, Wiley Rein LLP)

On August 5, 2010, Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) introduced legislation to reinforce and strengthen U.S. government enforcement of the trade remedy laws. “The Enforcing Orders and Reducing Circumvention and Evasion (ENFORCE) Act of 2010” (the “ENFORCE Act”), is expected to receive broad bipartisan support in the Senate. A similar measure is being developed in the House. If enacted, the ENFORCE Act would represent a significant improvement in trade law enforcement and the ability of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) to address evasion and circumvention.

Currently, U.S. trade remedy laws allow domestic producers to obtain relief from unfair practices of foreign trading partners through the application of antidumping and countervailing duties (“AD/CVD”). Of course, these forms of relief are only effective to the extent that they are enforced. Many domestic industries have long called for stricter enforcement procedures, because their relief has, in many instances, been effectively foreclosed due to a lack of adequate or timely AD/CVD enforcement by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Commerce. In addition, illegal duty evasion schemes have become more pervasive in recent years, as foreign producers and importers use shell companies, false import documents, and transshipment through third countries to avoid lawfully owed duties. Indeed, a growing number of foreign shipping companies openly advertise their ability to help importers evade U.S. antidumping and countervailing duties. Read more here.

U.S. Sets Preliminary Penalties on Chinese Drill Pipe

(Xinhua)

The U.S. Commerce Department Tuesday set preliminary countervailing duties (CVD) on imports of some 119.2 million dollar drill pipe from China, a move might escalate trade disputes between the two countries.

The department said in a statement that it “preliminary determined that Chinese exporters of drill pipe have received countervailable subsidies of 15.72 percent.”

As a result of this preliminary determination, Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect a cash deposit or bond based on these preliminary rates.

In 2009, imports of drill pipe from China were valued at an estimated 119.2 million dollars, according to the Commerce Department.

The department said that it is currently scheduled to make its final determination in August 2010. Read more here and here.

U.S. AD/CV Notices

(World Trade Interactive)

• Opportunity to request administrative review of AD duty orders and suspension agreements with June anniversary dates. Requests are due by June 30.

• Summaries of current antidumping and countervailing actions taken by the International Trade Administration or the International Trade Commission including Phosphate Salts, Coated Paper, Carboxymethylcellulose, Steel Products, Polyester Fiber, and Frozen Fish Fillets.

Read more here along with links to ITA/ITC source documents.

CBP Announces Intent to Distribute AD/CV Duties Under Byrd Amendment

(World Trade Interactive)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has announced its intent to distribute assessed antidumping and countervailing duties available for distribution in fiscal year 2010 pursuant to the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act, or Byrd Amendment. CBP has issued a notice listing the individual AD/CV duty orders and findings for which funds may become available for distribution, together with the affected domestic producers associated with each order or finding that are potentially eligible to receive a distribution. This notice also provides instructions for such producers to file written certifications claiming a distribution, which must be done by Aug. 2.

Although the CDSOA was repealed in 2006, the effect of the repeal will be delayed for several years. First, CBP will continue to distribute AD and CV duty revenues assessed on entries filed before Oct. 1, 2007. Second, because the AD/CV duty on an entry is not available for distribution until the entry is liquidated pursuant to the direction of the Department of Commerce, the distribution process will continue until all entries made before Oct. 1, 2007, are liquidated and the AD/CV duties are collected. While the distribution process will thus be continued for an undetermined period, the amount of money available for distribution can be expected to diminish over time. Read more here.

U.S. Government Expands the Use of Zeroing in Antidumping Investigations

(Mondaq – Robert L. LaFrankie and Alicia Winston, Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP)

Foreign exporters and U.S. importers should take note of a recent antidumping decision that represents a significant change in the U.S. Government’s antidumping duty calculations. The decision, which involved imports of certain retail carrier plastic bags from Taiwan, expands the use of a controversial practice known as “zeroing” through the use of a “targeted dumping” analysis. Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags from Taiwan: Final Determination of Sales at Less than Fair Value, 75 Fed. Reg. 14569 (Mar. 26, 2010) (“Taiwan Bags”). Read the discussion here.

U.S. Sets Penalties on Imports of Chinese Concrete Steel Wire Strand

(Xinhua/CRI English)

The U.S. Commerce Department said on Monday that it has made affirmative final determinations in the antidumping duties (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations on imports of prestressed concrete steel wire strand (PC Strand) from China.

The department said in a statement that in the AD case, it “determined that Chinese producers/exporters have sold PC Strand in the United States at 42.97-193.55 percent.”

In the CVD case, the department determined that Chinese producers/exporters of PC Strand have received net countervailable subsidies ranging from 8.85-45.85 percent.

As a result of this preliminary determination, Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect a cash deposit or bond based on these preliminary rates. Read more here.

Department of Commerce Imposes AD/CV Duty Orders on Plastic Grocery and Shopping Bags from Indonesia, Taiwan, and Vietnam

(Business Wire)

The U.S. Department of Commerce today published antidumping duty orders on imports of plastic grocery and shopping bags (referred to as polyethylene retail carrier bags) from Indonesia, Taiwan, and Vietnam and a countervailing duty (anti-subsidy) order on plastic bags from Vietnam. Today’s actions follow last month’s affirmative determination by the U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”) that the U.S. industry is threatened with material injury by reason of the dumped and subsidized imports. The orders reflect the high levels of dumping and subsidization found by the Department in March.

The antidumping orders direct U.S. Customs to collect antidumping duty cash deposits from U.S. importers on all covered plastic bags from Indonesia, Taiwan, and Vietnam. The duty rates are 69.64 to 85.17 percent for imports from Indonesia, 36.54 to 95.81 percent for imports from Taiwan, and 52.30 to 76.11 percent for imports from Vietnam. Certain Vietnamese imports also will be subject to countervailing duty cash deposits of up to 52.56 percent. Thus, for example, if an importer enters subject bags from Vietnam, the importer could be required to pay combined antidumping and countervailing duty cash deposits of up to 128.67 percent of the customs value at the time of entry. Read more here.

SIMA: Thermal Insulation Board…

(CBSA)

On April 6, 2010, pursuant to paragraph 41(1)(a) of the Special Import Measures Act, the President of the Canada Border Services Agency made a final determination of dumping respecting faced rigid cellular polyurethane-modified polyisocyanurate thermal insulation board originating in or exported from the United States of America.

For a PDF version of the Statement of Reasons, please click here.

Update to Measures in Force Under SIMA

(CBSA)

The list of goods currently subject to measures under the Special Import Measures Act (SIMA) and the relevant countries of origin or export has been updated, and is available on the CBSA website here.

China Slaps Duties on U.S., Russian Silicon Steel

(Reuters)

China has imposed countervailing duties on grain-oriented electrical steel produced in the United States, as well as anti-dumping duties against Russian and U.S. steel, its customs administration said.

U.S. producers will be assessed for anti-dumping duties of up to 64.8 percent, and anti-subsidy duties of up to 44.6 percent, it said on its website on Monday.

The state-backed China Chamber of Commerce of Metals, Minerals and Chemicals Importers and Exporters hailed the Ministry of Commerce’s April 10 ruling, which the Ministry has not yet publicly announced, state news agency Xinhua said.

“During the investigation the Ministry found that U.S. producers had received subsidies by the U.S. government, and their unfair competition hurt Chinese producers,” Xinhua said, quoting an unnamed person at the chamber of commerce.

On Friday, the U.S. announced a final decision to impose stiff duties on Chinese-made oil country tubular goods, which are steel pipe used in the oil industry. Read more here.

SIMA – Final Determination Respecting Certain Thermal Insulation Board Originating in or Exported from the USA

(CBSA)

4214-27 AD/1386
Faced Rigid Cellular Polyurethane-modified Polyisocyanurate Thermal Insulation Board Originating in or Exported from the United States of America

On April 6, 2010, the President of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) made a final determination of dumping pursuant to paragraph 41(1)(a) of the Special Import Measures Act (SIMA) in respect of faced rigid cellular polyurethane-modified polyisocyanurate thermal insulation board originating in or exported from the United States of America.

The results of the investigation reveal that 97.8% of the goods exported to Canada during the period of investigation (POI) were dumped by a weighted average margin of approximately 21.9%, expressed as a percentage of export price.

The goods in question are commonly classified under the Harmonized System classification number: 3921.13.99.10

Note that this HS code is for convenience of reference only. Refer to the product definition for authoritative details regarding the subject goods.

The Canadian International Trade Tribunal is continuing its inquiry into the question of injury to the domestic industry and will make an order or finding by May 6, 2010. Provisional duties will continue to apply until this date.

Additional information about this investigation is contained in a Statement of Reasons, which will be available within 15 days on the CBSA’s website.

Contacts:
Ron McTiernan 613-954-7271 • Wayne Tian 613-946-2574

Margins of Dumping (as percentage of the export price):

Atlas Roofing Corp 7.8%
Carlisle Syntec Inc. 15.9%
Construction Materials International, Inc. 0.0%
Dow Chemical Company 0.0%
Firestone Building Products Inc 15.9%
Hunter Panels LLC 8.9%
Johns Manville 23.8%
All Other Exporters: 168.9%

Notice of Conclusion of Re-Investigation: Copper Pipe Fittings from the USA, S. Korea and the PRC

(CBSA)

Dumping file #: 4214-12 • Dumping case #: AD/1358

This notice advises that on April 1, 2010, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) concluded a re investigation of the normal values and the export prices of certain copper pipe fittings originating in or exported from the United States of America, the Republic of Korea and the People’s Republic of China pursuant to the Special Import Measures Act (SIMA). A complete product definition of the subject goods can be found in Appendix 1 to this notice.

The re-investigation was initiated on November 12, 2009, as part of the CBSA’s enforcement of the finding made by the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (Tribunal) on February 19, 2007.

At the initiation of the re-investigation, the CBSA sent Requests for Information (RFI) to exporters to obtain information on the costs and selling prices of subject goods and like goods. Specific normal values for future shipments have been determined for all exporters that provided a complete submission.

Exporters that have received normal values:

• United States
- Elkhart Products Corporation
- Interstate Assembly Systems
- Mueller Industries Inc.
- Nibco Inc.

• Republic of Korea
- Jungwoo Metal Ind. Co., Ltd.

• People’s Republic of China
- Zhuji City Howhi Air Conditioners Made Co., Ltd.

Where sufficient information was not available to determine a specific normal value, normal values for future shipments have been determined by ministerial specification, which is calculated by advancing the export price of the goods by 242%. For all exporters of subject goods not listed above, normal values will be determined by this ministerial specification.

Normal values will be effective for the subject goods released from the CBSA on or after April 1, 2010. All normal values previously in place expire on that date. In addition, the normal values determined on the basis of the re investigation will be applied to any entries of subject goods under appeal that have yet to be re-determined at the time of the conclusion of this re investigation.

This re-investigation was only in relation to dumping and does not change any amounts of subsidy already in place.

Exporters that already have specific amounts of subsidy:

• People’s Republic of China
- Tianli Pipe Fitting Co., Ltd.
- Zhuji City Howhi Air Conditioners Made Co., Ltd.

For all other exporters of subject goods from the People’s Republic of China, the amount of subsidy will be determined in accordance with a ministerial specification, and is equal to 17.73 Chinese Renminbi per kilogram.

It is the responsibility of importers to calculate and declare their anti dumping and countervailing duty liability. In order to determine their liability for anti-dumping duty and/or countervailing duty, importers should contact their suppliers who can provide information on normal values and amounts of subsidy. Under limited circumstances, the CBSA may make this information available to importers. Customs brokers acting on the behalf of importers should be advised that the goods are subject to anti-dumping/countervailing action and be provided with sufficient information necessary to clear the shipments. For more information please refer to Memorandum D14-1-2, Disclosure of Normal Value and Export Price Established Under the Special Import Measures Act for Importers, on the CBSA Web site here.

The onus is on concerned parties to advise the CBSA in a timely manner of any changes to domestic prices, market conditions and/or costs associated with production and sales, as these changes could warrant retroactive assessments of anti-dumping and/or countervailing duty.

Should the importer disagree with the determination made on any importation of goods, a request for redetermination may be filed with the Director General, Anti-dumping and Countervailing Directorate, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0L8. Such a request must be received within 90 days from the making of the determination, in the form and manner outlined in Memorandum D14-1-3, Procedures for Making a Request for a Redetermination (an Appeal) of Goods Under the Special Import Measures Act.

Any questions concerning the above should be directed to:

Peter Dupuis: 613-954-7341; or Walid Ben Tamarzizt: 613-954-7265

Europe’s Biodiesel Producers Seek EU Anti-Fraud Probe of Canadian Shipments

(Juliane Von Reppet-Bismark — Globe & Mail)

The seizure by Italian customs officials of a shipload of Canadian biodiesel highlights the global battle for a slice of the growing renewable energy market.

A regional judge in Italy on Wednesday approved the seizure of 10,000 tonnes of biodiesel labelled as coming from Quebec and bound for the ports of Venice and Trieste. Italian customs officials blocked the cargo last month after receiving a tip that the material originally came from the United States.

Last May, the European Commission imposed duties on U.S. biodiesel for a five-year period, in response to what it said were illegal U.S. subsidies and export pricing practices. The duties have sent U.S. exports to Europe plummeting, to less than 400,000 tonnes in 2009 from 1.5 million tonnes in 2008.

The European Biodiesel Board (EBB), which represents European producers, believes the duties are being circumvented by the shipment of U.S. biodiesel through other countries, including Canada. The European producers claim the U.S. fuel is being labelled as coming from Canada, or that it is being mixed into Canadian biodiesel, for sale at a lower price than EU biodiesel of comparable quality. Read more here.

Memorandum D15-2-55: Certain Carbon Steel Plate and High Strength Low Alloy Steel Plate Originating in or Exported from Ukraine

(CBSA)

This memorandum refers to the application of anti-dumping duty to importations of certain carbon steel plate and high strength low alloy steel plate originating in or exported from Ukraine.