The U.S. Department of Commerce announced the affirmative preliminary determination in the countervailing duty (CVD) investigation of imports of aluminum wire and cable from China, finding that exporters received countervailable subsidies ranging from 11.57 to 164.16 percent.
As a result of this decision, Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits from importers of aluminum wire and cable from China based on these preliminary rates.
In 2017, imports of aluminum wire and cable from China were valued at an estimated $157.2 million.
The petitioners are Encore Wire Corporation (McKinney, Texas) and Southwire Company, LLC (Carrollton, Georgia).
The strict enforcement of U.S. trade law is a primary focus of the Trump Administration. Since the beginning of the current Administration, Commerce has initiated 157 new antidumping and countervailing duty investigations – this is a 283 percent increase from the comparable period in the previous administration.
Commerce is currently scheduled to announce its final determination on or about August 13, 2019.
If Commerce makes an affirmative final determination, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) will be scheduled to make its final injury determination on or about September 26, 2019. If Commerce makes an affirmative final determination in this investigation and the ITC makes an affirmative final injury determination, Commerce will issue a CVD order. If Commerce makes a negative final determination or the ITC makes a negative final determination of injury, the investigation will be terminated and no order will be issued.
Published in the May 2019 Edition