The U.S. Department of Commerce announced an affirmative preliminary determination in an antidumping (AD) investigation of hardwood plywood products from the People’s Republic of China. The Commerce Department determined that exporters from China have sold hardwood plywood in the United States at 0.00 percent to 114.72 percent less than fair value.
Commerce has instructed U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits from importers of hardwood plywood based on these final rates. In 2016, imports of hardwood plywood were estimated to be worth $1.12 billion.
The Coalition for Fair Trade in Hardwood Plywood filed the case on behalf of its individual members:
- Columbia Forest Products, Greensboro, North Carolina
- Commonwealth Plywood Inc., Whitehall, New York
- Murphy Plywood, Eugene, Oregon
- Roseburg Forest Products Co., Roseburg, Oregon
- States Industries, Inc., Eugene, Oregon, and
- Timber Products Company, Springfield, Oregon
The Department of Commerce is currently scheduled to issue its final antidumping determination on August 31, 2017, unless the statutory deadline is extended.
The U.S. International Trade Commissions (ITC) is conducting a parallel investigation to determine if the American producers have been harmed by the hardwood plywood imports from China. If the ITC makes an affirmative final injury determination, the Commerce Department will issue an antidumping order. If the ITC does not find that U.S. producers have been harmed, then the investigations will end, and no duties will be collected.
Click here for a fact sheet from the U.S. Department of Commerce.