Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced the affirmative final determinations in the antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations of imports of laminated woven sacks from Vietnam, finding that exporters from Vietnam have sold laminated woven sacks at less than fair value in the United States at rates ranging from 109.46 to 292.61 percent. Commerce also determined that exporters from Vietnam received countervailable subsidies at rates ranging from 3.02 to 198.87 percent.
Upon publication of the final affirmative antidumping duty determination, Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to collect AD cash deposits equal to the applicable final weighted-average dumping margins. Further, as a result of the affirmative final countervailing duty determination, if the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) makes an affirmative injury determination, Commerce will instruct CBP to resume collection of CVD cash deposits equal to the applicable subsidy rates.
In 2017, U.S. imports of certain 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 157 new antidumping and countervailing duty investigations – this is a 283 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 471 antidumping and countervailing duty orders which provide relief to American companies and industries impacted by unfair trade.
The ITC is currently scheduled to make its final injury determinations on or about May 20, 2019. If the ITC makes affirmative final injury determinations, Commerce will issue AD and CVD orders. If the ITC makes negative final determinations of injury, the investigations will be terminated and no orders will be issued.
Click HERE for a fact sheet on today’s decisions.
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.
