C-AIR TIMES ISSUE #613 - Friday, January 17, 2020 09:01

Petitions for the Imposition of Antidumping Duties and Countervailing Duties on Certain Vertical Shaft Engines Between 225CC and 999CC, and Parts Thereof - Grunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz, Silverman & Klestadt LLP

I. Type of Action: Antidumping Duty (“AD”): China; Countervailing Duty (“CVD”): China

II. Product:
The merchandise covered by this investigation consist of spark-ignited, non-road, vertical shaft engines, whether finished or unfinished, whether assembled or unassembled, designed primarily for use in riding lawn mowers and zero-turn radius lawn mowers. Engines meeting this physical description may also be designed for use in other non-hand-held outdoor power equipment. The subject engines are spark ignition, single or multiple cylinder, air cooled, internal combustion engines with vertical power take off shafts with a minimum displacement of 225 cubic centimeters (“cc”) and a maximum displacement of 999cc. Typically, engines with displacements of this size generate gross power of between 6.7 kilowatts (“kw”) to 42 kw.

Engines covered by this scope normally must comply with and be certified under Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) air pollution controls title 40, chapter I, subchapter U, part 1054 of the Code of Federal Regulations standards for small non-road spark-ignition engines and equipment. Engines that otherwise meet the physical description of the scope but are not certified under 40 CFR part 1054 and are not certified under other parts of subchapter U of the EPA air pollution controls are not excluded from the scope of this proceeding. Engines that may be certified under both 40 CFR part 1054 as well as other parts of subchapter U remain subject to the scope of this proceeding.

For purposes of this investigation, an unfinished engine covers at a minimum a sub-assembly comprised of, but not limited to, the following components: crankcase, crankshaft, camshaft, pistons(s), connecting rode (s), and oil pan. Importation of these components together, whether assembled or unassembled, and whether or not accompanied by additional components such as a manifold, cylinder head(s), valve train, or valve cover(s), constitutes an unfinished engine for purposes of this investigation. The inclusion of other products such as spark plugs fitted into the cylinder head or electrical devices (e.g., ignition modules, ignition coils) for synchronizing with the motor to supply tension current does not remove the product from the scope. The inclusion of any other components not identified as comprising the unfinished engine subassembly in a third-country does not remove the engine from the scope.

III. HTS classifications:
Engines are currently classified under the HTSUS subheadings 8407.90.1020, 8407.90.1060, and 8407.90.1080. Unfinished engines are classified under subheadings 8409.91.5085 and 8409.91.9990. Subject imports may also be entered under subheadings 8407.90.9060 and 8407.90.9080.

The HTSUS subheadings and specifications are provided for convenience and customs purposes; the written description of the scope is dispositive.

IV. Date of Filing: January 15, 2020

V. Petitioners: Coalition of American Vertical Engine Producers, Kohler Co. and Briggs & Stratton Corporation

VI. Foreign Producers/Exporters: Please contact our office for a list filed with the petition.

VII. US Importers named: Please contact our office for a list filed with the petition.

VIII. Alleged Dumping Margins (No CVD Margins Listed): China: 320.41-539.45%;

IX. Comments:

A. Projected date of ITC Preliminary Conference: February 5, 2020. Please contact our office for a complete projected schedule for the AD/CVD investigations.

B. The earliest theoretical date for retroactive suspension of liquidation for the AD is March 25, 2020; CVD is February 4, 2020.

C. Volume and Value of Imports: Please contact our office for a summary of the data filed with the petition.

D. List of Alleged Subsidy Programs: Please contact our office for a list of alleged subsidy programs.

If you have questions regarding how this investigation may impact future imports of scope merchandise or whether a particular product is within the scope of the investigation, please contact one of our attorneys.

PNCT & Maher Terminals: Monday *JAN 20th* PNCT will be CLOSED for Martin Luther King Day

PierPass: Port Truck Gate Schedule for MLK Jr. Day Holiday 2020

Terminals at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have announced schedules for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday weekend of Friday, Jan. 17, 2020 through Monday, Jan. 20, 2020. The schedule is posted below, and a PDF of the schedule can be downloaded by clicking here: https://www.pierpass.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/MLK_Weekend-2020_1.pdf.

Federal Register Notices:

Today (1/9/20), the U.S. Department of Commerce announced the initiation of new antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations to determine whether forged steel fluid end blocks from Germany, India, and Italy are being dumped in the United States, and to find if producers in China, Germany, India, and Italy are receiving unfair subsidies.

These antidumping and countervailing duty investigations were initiated based on petitions filed by the FEB Fair Trade Coalition (Cleveland, OH); Ellwood City Forge Company, Ellwood Quality Steels Company, and Ellwood National Steel Company (Ellwood City, PA); and A. Finkl & Sons (Chicago, IL).

The alleged dumping margins are 83.37 percent for Germany, 198.85 percent for India, and 87.04 percent for Italy.

There are 24 subsidy programs alleged for China, 16 subsidy programs alleged for Germany, 29 subsidy programs alleged for India, and 20 subsidy programs alleged for Italy.

If Commerce makes affirmative findings in these investigations, and if the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) determines that dumped and/or unfairly subsidized U.S. imports of forged steel fluid end blocks from China, Germany, India, and Italy are causing injury to the U.S. industry, Commerce will impose duties on those imports in the amount of dumping and/or unfair subsidization found to exist.

The petitioners estimated that imports of forged steel fluid end blocks China, Germany, India, and Italy were valued at approximately $17.8 million, $23.3 million, $44.4 million, and $46.4 million, respectively, in 2018.

Click HERE for a fact sheet on these initiations.

Next Steps:

During Commerce’s investigations into whether forged steel fluid end blocks from China, Germany, India, and Italy are 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 February 3, 2020. If the ITC preliminarily determines that there is injury or threat of injury, then Commerce’s investigations will continue, with the preliminary CVD determinations scheduled for March 13, 2020, and preliminary AD determinations scheduled for May 27, 2020, unless these deadlines are extended.

If Commerce preliminarily determines that dumping and/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 forged steel fluid end blocks from China, Germany, India, and Italy.

Final determinations by Commerce in these cases are scheduled for May 27, 2020, for the CVD investigations, and August 10, 2020, for the AD investigations, but these dates may be extended. If Commerce finds that products are not being dumped or unfairly subsidized, or the ITC finds in its final determinations that there is no injury to the U.S. industry, then the investigations will be terminated and no duties will be applied.

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 195 new antidumping and countervailing duty investigations – a 200 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 515 antidumping and countervailing duty orders which provide relief to American companies and industries impacted by unfair trade.

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.

U.S. Department of Commerce Initiates Antidumping Duty Investigation of Imports of 4th Tier Cigarettes from Korea - U.S. Department of Commerce

Today (1/08/20), the U.S. Department of Commerce announced the initiation of a new antidumping duty (AD) investigation to determine whether 4th tier cigarettes from Korea are being dumped in the United States at less than fair value.

The petitioner is the Coalition Against Korean Cigarettes, whose members are Xcaliber International (Pryor, OK) and Cheyenne International (Grover, NC).

The alleged dumping margins range from 7.10 to 113.06 percent.

If Commerce makes an affirmative finding in this investigation, and if the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) determines that dumped imports of 4th tier cigarettes from Korea are causing injury to the U.S. industry, Commerce will impose duties on those imports in the amount of dumping found to exist.

In 2018, imports of cigarettes from Korea were valued at an estimated $72.9 million.

Click HERE for a fact sheet on this initiation.

Next Steps:

During Commerce’s investigation into whether 4th tier cigarettes from Korea are being dumped, the ITC will conduct its own investigation into whether the U.S. industry and its workforce are being harmed by such imports. The ITC will make its preliminary determination on or before February 3, 2020. If the ITC preliminarily determines that there is injury or threat of injury, then Commerce’s investigation will continue, with the preliminary determination scheduled for May 26, 2020, unless this deadline is extended.

If Commerce preliminarily determines that dumping is occurring, then it will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to start collecting cash deposits from all U.S. companies importing 4th tier cigarettes from Korea.

The final determination by Commerce in this case is scheduled for August 10, 2020, but this date may be extended. If Commerce finds that products are not being dumped, or the ITC finds in its final determination that there is no harm to the U.S. industry, then the investigation will be terminated and no duties will be applied.

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 188 new antidumping and countervailing duty investigations – a 189 percent increase from the comparable period in the previous administration.