A coalition of U.S. engineered wood flooring manufacturers have filed an unfair trade petition alleging that imports of that product from China are being sold in the U.S. at dumped prices, and that their counterparts in China have gained an unfair competitive advantage through government subsidies and manipulation of the Chinese yuan.
A coalition of U.S. engineered wood flooring manufacturers have filed an unfair trade petition alleging that imports of that product from China are being sold in the U.S. at dumped prices, and that their counterparts in China have gained an unfair competitive advantage through government subsidies and manipulation of the Chinese yuan.
The Coalition for American Hardwood Parity (CAHP), a group of U.S. manufacturers of engineered wood flooring, filed the 1,200-page petition with the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) and the International Trade Commission (ITC) on Oct. 21. The petition requests that the U.S. government investigate these unfair trade practices and their harmful impact on this domestic manufacturing industry. The petition also asserts that U.S. engineered flooring manufacturers have suffered "material competitive injury" as a result of these trade practices and requests the U.S. government apply antidumping and countervailing duties of 100 percent on engineered wood flooring imports from China to "restore competitive parity in the U.S. market."
CAHP said the market share of engineered wood flooring held by manufacturers in China has grown from 8 percent in 2002 to 34.7 percent through June 2010. CAHP counsel and spokesman Jeff Levin said this growth was leveraged by Chinese manufacturers' dumping engineered wood flooring in the U.S. "at prices that are well below fair trade value;" proving so is an important stipulation of a DOC-conducted antidumping investigation. CAHP also said U.S. engineered wood flooring stakeholders-i.e., distributors, retailers and customers-have suffered due to the alleged unfair trade. Decreased profit margin on "beautiful, well-styled domestic products" has led to a decline in service throughout the supply chain, Levin said.
Wood flooring manufacturers in CAHP include: Anderson Hardwood Floors (Clinton, S.C), Award Hardwood Floors LLP (Wausau, Wis.), Baker's Creek (Jackson, Miss.), From the Forest LLC (Weston, Wis.), Howell Hardwood Flooring (Dothan, Ala.), Mannington Wood Floors (Salem, N.J.), Nydree Flooring (Forest, Va.) and Shaw Industries Inc. (Dalton, Ga.).
CAHP expects to receive a preliminary ruling on the matter in early 2011 and a final ruling and trade duty to be implemented by the end of 2011. NWFA Executive Director/CEO Ed Korczak said that the NWFA "supports a 'level playing field' for the wood flooring industry and opposes illegal logging and 'dumping' of any industry products from any source," and that the association will cooperate with the study if and when requested.
For more information on CAHP and its goals, visit http://www.usfloorparity.org. The website contains an FAQ and overview of DOC and ITC trade investigations.
(Updated 10/22/10)
