Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced the initiation of new antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations to determine whether cast iron soil pipe from China is being dumped in the United States or if producers in China are receiving unfair subsidies.

“The Department will act swiftly, while assuring a full and fair assessment of the facts, to ensure that everyone trades on a level playing field,” said Secretary Ross. “The Trump administration is committed to the enforcement of America’s vital trade laws that ensure U.S. businesses and workers have a fair chance to compete.”

These AD and CVD investigations were initiated based on petitions filed by the Cast Iron Soil Pipe Institute (Mundelein, IL) on January 26, 2018.

In the AD investigation, the Commerce Department will determine whether imports of cast iron soil pipe from China are being dumped in the U.S. market at less than fair value.

In the CVD investigation, the Commerce Department will determine whether Chinese producers of cast iron soil pipe are receiving government subsidies.

The estimated dumping margin alleged by the petitioner is 93.32 percent for China. The 32 subsidy programs alleged include five preferential loan and interest rate programs, three debt-to-equity swaps, equity infusions, and loan forgiveness programs, six income tax and other direct subsidy programs, three indirect tax programs, seven less-than-adequate remuneration, and eight grant programs.

From January 20, 2017, through February 15, 2018, the Commerce Department has initiated 96 antidumping and countervailing duty investigations – an 81 percent increase from 52 in the previous period. The Commerce Department currently maintains 424 antidumping and countervailing duty orders which provide relief to American companies and industries impacted by unfair trade.

If the Commerce Department determines that cast iron soil pipe from China is being dumped into the U.S. market or that China is providing government subsidies, and if the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) determines that dumped and/or unfairly subsidized U.S. imports of cast iron soil pipe from China are causing injury to the U.S. industry, the Commerce Department will impose duties on those imports in the amount of dumping and/or unfair subsidization found to exist.

In 2017, imports of cast iron soil pipe from China were valued at $11.5 million.

Click HERE for a fact sheet on these initiations.

Next Steps:

During the Commerce Department’s investigations into whether cast iron soil pipe is being dumped and/or unfairly subsidized, the ITC will conduct its own investigations into whether the U.S. industry and its workforce are being harmed by such imports. The ITC will make its preliminary determinations on or before March 12, 2018. If the ITC preliminarily determines that there is injury or threat of injury, then the Commerce Department investigations will continue, with a preliminary CVD determination scheduled for April 23, 2018, and preliminary AD determination scheduled for July 5, 2018, unless these deadlines are extended.

If the Commerce Department preliminarily determines that dumping and/or unfair subsidization is occurring, then it will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to start collecting cash deposits from all U.S. companies importing cast iron soil pipe from China.

Final determinations by the Commerce Department in these cases are scheduled for July 5, 2018, for the CVD investigation, and September 18, 2018, for the AD investigation, but those dates may be extended. If the Commerce Department finds that products are not being dumped or unfairly subsidized, or the ITC finds in its final determinations there is no harm to the U.S. industry, then the investigations will be terminated and no duties will be applied.

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Foreign companies that price their products in the U.S. market below the cost of production or below prices in their home markets are subject to “antidumping” duties. Companies that receive unfair subsidies from their governments, such as grants, loans, equity infusions, tax breaks and production inputs, are subject to “countervailing duties” aimed at directly countering those subsidies.