From the U.S. Dept. of Commerce – Today, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced the affirmative preliminary determination in the first antidumping duty (AD) trade case the Federal government has initiated since 1985. This historic self-initiated AD investigation concerns imports of common alloy aluminum sheet from China.

This investigation, and the companion countervailing duty investigation, was initiated by the Enforcement and Compliance division of the Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration under the authority granted to the Secretary in the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended. The CVD investigation reached a preliminary determination in February 2018 and is still being adjudicated.

“The Department of Commerce will do everything in its power to stop the flow of unfairly subsidized or dumped goods into U.S. markets,” said Secretary Ross. “We will continue to strictly enforce U.S. laws to defend American workers, industries, and communities from the scourge of unfair and unbalanced trade.”

In its preliminary finding, Commerce determined that exporters from China have sold common alloy aluminum sheet in the United States at 167.16 percent less than fair value.

As a result of today’s decision, Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to collect cash deposits from importers of common alloy aluminum sheet from China based on these preliminary rates.

In 2017, imports of common alloy aluminum sheet from China were valued at an estimated $900 million.

The strict enforcement of U.S. trade law is a primary focus of the Trump Administration. Since the beginning of the current Administration, Commerce has initiated 118 new AD and CVD investigations – this is 59 percent more than the 74 initiations in the last 514 days of the previous administration.

Antidumping duty laws provide American businesses and workers with an internationally accepted mechanism to seek relief from the harmful effects of the unfair pricing of imports into the United States. Commerce currently maintains 449 antidumping and countervailing duty orders which provide relief to American companies and industries impacted by unfair trade. (read more)

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