Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced the affirmative preliminary determination in the countervailing duty (CVD) investigation of imports of laminated woven sacks from Vietnam, finding that exporters received countervailable subsidies ranging from 3.24 to 6.15 percent.
The Department of Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits from importers of laminated woven sacks from Vietnam based on these preliminary rates.
In 2017, U.S. imports of laminated woven sacks from Vietnam were valued at an estimated $21.1 million.
The petitioners are the Laminated Woven Sacks Fair Trade Coalition and its individual members, Polytex Fibers Corporation (Houston, TX) and ProAmpac Holdings Inc. (Cincinnati, OH).
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 120 new antidumping and countervailing duty investigations – this is a 216 percent increase from the comparable period in the previous administration.
Antidumping and countervailing duty laws provide American businesses and workers with an internationally accepted mechanism to seek relief from the harmful effects of the unfair subsidization of imports into the United States. Commerce currently maintains 456 antidumping and countervailing duty orders which provide relief to American companies and industries impacted by unfair trade.
Commerce is currently scheduled to issue its final CVD determination on or about Dec. 17, 2018.
If Commerce makes an affirmative final determination, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) will be scheduled to make its final injury determination on or about Jan. 31, 2019. If Commerce makes an affirmative final determination in this investigation and the 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 rules and is based solely on factual evidence provided on the record.
Foreign companies that receive financial assistance from foreign governments that benefits the production of goods from foreign companies and is limited to specific enterprises or industries, or is contingent either upon export performance or upon the use of domestic goods over imported goods, are subject to countervailing duties.
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce
