Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced the affirmative preliminary determination in the countervailing duty (CVD) investigation of imports of cast iron soil pipe fittings from China.
“The Trump Administration will not sit back and watch as American companies and workers are harmed by unfair government subsidies,” said Secretary Ross. “The United States is committed to free, fair and reciprocal trade, and will continue to validate the information provided to us that brought us to this decision.” The Commerce Department preliminarily determined that exporters from China received countervailable subsidies of 8.66 to 102.31 percent.
As a result of today’s decision, Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to collect cash deposits from importers of cast iron soil pipe fittings from China based on these preliminary rates.
In 2016, imports of cast iron soil pipe fittings from China were valued at an estimated $8.6 million.
The petitioner is the Cast Iron Soil Pipe Institute (IL), the members of which are AB&I Foundry (CA), Charlotte Pipe & Foundry (NC), and Tyler Pipe (TX).
Enforcement of U.S. trade law is a prime focus of the Trump administration. From Jan. 20, 2017, through Dec. 11, 2017, Commerce has initiated 79 antidumping and countervailing duty investigations – a 52 percent increase from 52 initiations in the previous year.
The CVD law provides U.S. businesses and workers with an internationally accepted mechanism to seek relief from the harmful effects of foreign government unfair subsidization of imports into the United States. Commerce currently maintains 412 antidumping and countervailing duty orders which provide relief to American companies and industries impacted by unfair trade.
Commerce is currently scheduled to announce its final CVD determination on or about April 24, 2018. If Commerce makes an affirmative final determination and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) makes an affirmative final injury determination, Commerce will issue a CVD order. If Commerce makes a negative final determination or the ITC makes a negative final determination of injury, the investigation will be terminated and no order will be issued.
Click HERE for a fact sheet on today’s decision.
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Enforcement and Compliance unit within the International Trade Administration is responsible for vigorously enforcing U.S. trade laws and does so through an impartial, transparent process that abides by international law and is based solely on factual evidence.
Imports from companies that receive unfair subsidies from their governments in the form of grants, loans, equity infusions, tax breaks and production inputs are subject to “countervailing duties” aimed at directly countering those subsidies.
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce
