Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced the initiation of new antidumping duty (AD) investigations to determine whether imports of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) resin from the People’s Republic of China (China) and India are being dumped in the United States, and a countervailing duty (CVD) investigation to determine whether producers of PTFE resin in India are receiving alleged unfair subsidies.

“The Department will act swiftly, while assuring a full and fair assessment of the facts, to ensure that everyone trades on a level playing field,” said Secretary Ross. “The Trump administration is committed to the enforcement of America’s vital trade laws that ensure U.S. businesses and workers have a fair chance to compete.”

These AD and CVD investigations were initiated based on petitions filed by the Chemours Company FC LLC (DE) on September 28. The estimated dumping margins alleged by the petitioner range from 23.4 to 408.9 percent and 15.8 to 128.1 percent for China and India, respectively and the unfair subsidies are estimated to be above de minimis for India.

In the AD investigations, the Commerce Department will determine whether imports of PTFE resin from China and India are being dumped in the U.S. market at less than fair value.

In the CVD investigation, the Commerce Department will determine whether Indian producers of PTFE resin are receiving unfair government subsidies.

If the Commerce Department determines that PTFE resin from China and India is being dumped into the U.S. market and India is providing unfair government subsidies, and if the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) determines that dumped and/or unfairly subsidized U.S. imports of PTFE resin from China and India are causing injury to the U.S. industry, the Commerce Department will impose duties on those imports in the amount of dumping and/or unfair subsidization found to exist.

In 2016, imports of PTFE resin from China and India were valued at an estimated $24.6 million and $14.3 million, respectively.

Enforcement of U.S. trade law is a prime focus of the Trump administration. From January 20 through October 19, 2017, Commerce has initiated 73 AD and CVD investigations – a 52 percent increase over the previous year. Commerce currently maintains 412 AD and CVD duty orders which provide relief to American companies and industries impacted by unfair trade.

Click HERE for a fact sheet on these initiations.

Next Steps:

During the Commerce Department’s investigations into whether PTFE resin is being dumped and/or unfairly subsidized, the ITC will conduct its own investigations into whether the U.S. industry and its workforce are being harmed by such imports. The ITC will make its preliminary determinations on or before November 13, 2017. If the ITC preliminarily determines that there is injury or threat of injury, then the Commerce Department investigations will continue, with a preliminary CVD determination scheduled for December 22, 2017, and preliminary AD determinations scheduled for March 7, 2018, unless these deadlines are extended.

If the Commerce Department preliminarily determines that dumping or unfair subsidization is occurring, then it will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to start collecting cash deposits from all U.S. companies importing the subject PTFE resin from China and India.

Final determinations by the Commerce Department in these cases are scheduled for March 7, 2018, for the CVD investigation, and May 21, 2018, for the AD investigations, but those dates may be extended. If the Commerce Department finds that products are not being dumped or unfairly subsidized, or the ITC finds in its final determinations there is no harm to the U.S. industry, then the investigations will be terminated and no duties will be applied.

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Foreign companies that price their products in the U.S. market below the cost of production or below prices in their home markets are subject to “antidumping” duties. Companies that receive unfair subsidies from their governments, such as grants, loans, equity infusions, tax breaks and production inputs, are subject to “countervailing duties” aimed at directly countering those subsidies.