Wood Coalition Alleges 'Targeted Dumping'

Washington, DC, April 13, 2011 -- Formal allegations of "targeted dumping" of engineered hardwood from China have been submitted to the U.S. Department of Commerce against the three mandatory respondents in the ongoing dumping case that began last fall.

The new allegations, filed against Zhejiang Layo Industry Co., the Samling Group, and Zhejiang Yuhua Timber Co. by the Coalition for American Hardwood Parity, come in advance of the preliminary antidumping determination next month.

Because the dumping margins for most other Chinese producers are calculated on the basis of the margins assigned to the three mandatory respondents, the new allegations will impact the majority of engineered hardwood imports from China, according to a press release.  

“Targeted dumping” refers to a foreign exporter’s sales of the merchandise at a lower price to certain customers in the U.S. or in certain regions of the country than sales to other customers or in other regions.

The allegations, which are based on the questionnaire responses submitted by the named producers, could result in the application of a different methodology for calculating dumping margins, which often results in higher dumping rates than would be calculated under the Department’s standard methodology, the press release said.

Jeff Levin, counsel for the coalition, said that “the Coalition has ensured that the targeted dumping allegations are extraordinarily well documented, and based specifically upon the data submitted by the Chinese producers.”

Levin also said that the CAHP will use all available means under the Federal regulations to eliminate unfair trading by Chinese producers.

The preliminary determination in the antidumping portion of this investigation is scheduled to be announced on May 20.

Last week, the preliminary determination in the countervailing duty investigation was published in the Federal Register.

The CAHP notes that as a result of that determination, imports of multilayered wood flooring from all but two Chinese producers are now subject to a duty deposit requirement and the liquidation of the entries have been suspended by U.S. Customs.

Levin said that “in absolute terms, approximately 85% of total MLWF exports to the U.S. from China are now subject to the deposit requirement and suspension of liquidation.”

Levin also said that an overlooked aspect of the preliminary subsidies determination is that the Department decided not to grant any of the requests for product exclusions submitted by the Chinese producers and other parties to this investigation.”      

More information is avaialble at www.usfloorparity.org.