Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced affirmative preliminary determinations in the countervailing duty (CVD) investigations of imports of utility scale wind towers from Canada, Indonesia, and Vietnam, finding that exporters from these countries received countervailable subsidies at rates of 1.09 percent, 20.29 percent, and 2.43 percent, respectively.

As a result of today’s decisions, Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits from importers of utility scale wind towers from Canada, Indonesia, and Vietnam based on these preliminary rates.

In 2018, imports of utility scale wind towers from Canada, Indonesia, and Vietnam were valued at an estimated $60.2 million, $37.4 million, and $21.4 million, respectively.

The petitioner is the Wind Tower Trade Coalition, which includes Arcosa Wind Towers Inc. (Dallas, TX) and Broadwind Towers, Inc. (Manitowoc, WI). 

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 187 new antidumping and countervailing duty investigations – a 188 percent increase from the comparable period in the previous administration.

Antidumping and countervailing duty laws provide American businesses and workers with an internationally accepted mechanism to seek relief from the harmful effects of the unfair pricing of imports into the United States. Commerce currently maintains 503 antidumping and countervailing duty orders which provide relief to American companies and industries impacted by unfair trade.

Commerce is currently scheduled to announce its final CVD determinations on or about April 21, 2020.

If Commerce makes affirmative final determinations, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) will be scheduled to make its final injury determinations on or about June 4, 2020. If Commerce makes affirmative final determinations in these investigations, and the ITC makes affirmative final injury determinations, Commerce will issue CVD orders. If Commerce makes negative final determinations, or the ITC makes negative final determinations of injury, the investigations will be terminated and no orders will be issued.

Click HERE for a fact sheet on today’s decisions.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Enforcement and Compliance unit within the International Trade Administration is responsible for vigorously enforcing U.S. trade law and does so through an impartial, transparent process that abides by international rules and is based on factual evidence provided on the record.

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, or production inputs, are subject to countervailing duties aimed at directly countering those subsidies.