U.S. Department of Commerce Initiates Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty Investigations of Imports of Glass Containers from China

Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced the initiation of new antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations to determine whether certain glass containers from China are being dumped in the United States and to determine if producers from this country are receiving unfair subsidies.

These investigations were initiated based on petitions filed by the American Glass Packaging Coalition, whose members are Anchor Glass Container Corporation (Tampa, FL) and Ardagh Glass Inc. (Chicago, IL).

The alleged dumping margins are 40.45 to 255.68 percent.

There are 35 subsidy programs alleged for China, including tax programs, export credit and guarantee programs, grant programs, as well as loan programs.

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 glass containers from China 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.

In 2018, imports of glass containers from China were valued at an estimated $370.8 million.

Click HERE for a fact sheet on these initiations.

Next Steps:

During Commerce’s investigations into whether glass containers from China 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 November 12, 2019. If the ITC preliminarily determines that there is injury or threat of injury, then Commerce’s investigations will continue, with the preliminary CVD determination scheduled for December 19, 2019, and preliminary AD determination scheduled for March 3, 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 glass containers from China.

Final determinations by Commerce in these cases are scheduled for March 3, 2019, for the CVD investigation, and May 18, 2020, for the AD investigation, but these dates may be extended. If Commerce finds that products are not being dumped and/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.

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 184 new antidumping and countervailing duty investigations – a 235 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 498 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 law 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.