US Commerce Department determines hardwood plywood was dumped

The US Commerce Department said on Monday that it had reached a preliminary determination that some Chinese companies are dumping hardwood plywood in the US, which imported about $ 1.12 billion worth of the products from China in 2016.

A Commerce Department investigation found that exporters from China had sold hardwood plywood used for wall panels, kitchen cabinets, tabletops and fl ooring in the US for as much as 114.72 percent below fair value, its said in a statement.

The department set a preliminary anti- dumping margin of 114.72 percent for Shandong Dongfang Bayley Wood Co and a margin of 57.36 percent for other respondents eligible for a separate rate.

The same rate of 114.72 percent was set for other Chinese producers that belong to a China- wide entity, the department said in a statement.

Mandatory respondent Linyi Chengen Import and Export Co was determined not to be dumping and was not assessed an anti- dumping margin, the department said.

As a result of the decision, the Commerce Department will instruct US Customs and Border Protection to require cash deposits from the Chinese companies based on those preliminary rates. Linyi Chengen will not be subject to a cash deposit rate.

The Commerce Department said a final determination in the case is expected around August 31.

The probe was launched after the Coalition for Fair Trade in Hardwood Plywood filed a complaint on behalf of itself and its members, which were six private companies in the states of Oregon, New York and North Carolina.

The department issued a preliminary finding in April that the plywood companies were being subsidized by China and should be subject to countervailing duties ranging from 9.89 percent to 111.09 percent.

It calculated preliminary subsidy rates of 111.09 percent for Shandong Dongfang Bayley Wood Co and 9.89 percent for Linyi Sanfortune Wood Co. A final decision in that case is due in early July.