The United States Department of Commerce will continue its antidumping and countervailing duty investigations of hardwood plywood imported from China after the International Trade Commission on Dec. 30 determined there is a “reasonable indication” the products cause the U.S. industry harm.
The Department of Commerce is scheduled to release its countervailing duty determination and preliminary antidumping duty determination on Feb. 13 and April 27, respectively.
The investigation began after a petition filed by The Coalition for Fair Trade of Hardwood Plywood in November alleged Chinese hardwood plywood was dumped into the U.S. below cost between 2013–2015.
The same accusation was made against Chinese hardwood plywood imports in 2012. Later in 2013, although the ITC initially determined there was a “reasonable indication” of harm and the Department of Commerce investigation recommended imposing antidumping and countervailing duties, the ITC ultimately voted against initiating duties. The Coalition for Fair Trade of Hardwood Plywood filed a petition against the ITC’s final vote in 2014 and a U.S. Court of International Trade judge in 2016 remanded the ITC’s decision in the case. The ITC’s response is still pending.
