Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce is announcing the initiation of new antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations to determine whether magnesium from Israel is being sold in the United States at less than fair value and to determine if producers in Israel are receiving unfair subsidies.
These investigations were initiated based on petitions filed by US Magnesium LLC on Oct. 24, 2018.
In the antidumping duty investigation, Commerce will determine whether imports of magnesium from Israel are being dumped in the U.S. market at less than fair value.
The alleged dumping margins range from 92.06 to 130.61 percent.
In the countervailing duty investigation, Commerce will determine whether Israeli producers of magnesium are receiving unfair government subsidies.
There are 12 subsidy programs alleged, including seven tax programs and five grant programs.
If Commerce makes an affirmative finding in these investigations, and if the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) determines that dumped and/or unfairly subsidized U.S. imports of magnesium from Israel are causing injury to U.S. industry, Commerce will impose duties on those imports in the amount of dumping and/or unfair subsidization found to exist.
In 2017, imports of magnesium from Israel were valued at an estimated $43.5 million.
Click HERE for a fact sheet on these initiations.
Next Steps: During Commerce’s investigations into whether magnesium from Israel 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 Dec. 10, 2018. If the ITC preliminarily determines that there is injury or threat of injury, then Commerce’s investigations will continue, with the preliminary CVD determination scheduled for Jan. 17, 2019, and preliminary AD determination scheduled for April 2, 2019, unless these deadlines are extended.
If Commerce 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 magnesium from Israel.
Final determinations by Commerce in these cases are scheduled for April 2, 2019, for the CVD investigation, and June 17, 2019, for the AD investigation, but those dates may be extended. If Commerce finds that products are not being dumped and/or unfairly subsidized, or the ITC finds in its final determinations there is no harm to U.S. industry, then the investigations will be terminated and no duties will be applied.
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 137 new antidumping and countervailing duty investigations – this is a 242 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 pricing of imports into the United States. Commerce currently maintains 461 antidumping and countervailing duty orders which provide relief to American companies and industries impacted by unfair trade.
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Enforcement and Compliance unit within the International Trade Administration is responsible for vigorously enforcing U.S. trade law and does so through an impartial, transparent process that abides by international law and is based on factual evidence provided on the record.
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, or production inputs, are subject to countervailing duties aimed at directly countering those subsidies.
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce
