U.S. wood flooring manufacturers petitioning the federal government to levy antidumping duties on engineered wood flooring imported from China have requested the preliminary determination be extended. The petitioners, an ad hoc group known as the Coalition for American Hardwood Parity (CAHP), made their request to the U.S. Department of Commerce and expect the extension to be granted. As a result, the preliminary antidumping determination should be issued in mid-May.
The extension will give the Department of Commerce more time to scrutinize and offer comment on questionnaires submitted by select manufacturers in China who have been chosen as mandatory respondents in the matter, according to Jeff Levin, counsel for the CAHP.
According to William Perry, counsel for the Alliance for Free Choice and Jobs in Flooring (AFCFJ), a group of wood flooring importers, distributors and dealers that directly opposes the CAHP, the extension is a "normal operating procedure." He added, "This is a very complicated case and Commerce needs more time to analyze all the responses."
