China Geogrid Products: New AD/CVD Investigations Deadlines & Scope
The Commerce Department issued Federal Register notices on its recently initiated antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on biaxial integral geogrid products from China (A-570-036/C-570-037). The agency will determine whether imports of Chinese geogrid products are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value or illegally subsidized. The period under investigation in the CV duty case is Jan. 1, 2015, through Dec. 31, 2015. In the AD duty investigation, it's July 1, 2015 through Dec. 31, 2015.
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The International Trade Commission will conduct a concurrent investigation to determine whether imports of dumped and illegally subsidized geogrid products are injuring U.S. industry. If Commerce finds dumping in the preliminary determinations of this investigation, currently due in April for CV duties and June for AD duties, it will set cash deposit requirements for imports of merchandise subject to the investigation. Conversely, if the ITC finds no injury in either its preliminary or final injury determinations, the investigations will immediately end. If both Commerce and the ITC reach affirmative final determinations, Commerce will issue AD and/or CV duty orders making duties permanent and beginning a process of annual administrative reviews to set final assessments of AD/CV duties on importers and potentially change AD/CV duty cash deposit rates.
If duties are imposed, Chinese producers and exporters who do not demonstrate independence from government control and request eligibility for a "separate rate" will be assigned the "China-wide rate," which can reach over 200 percent for some products. Separate rate applications from Chinese producers and exporters (here) are due March 13.
AD/CVD Respondent Selection
Commerce will send quantity and value questionnaires to each potential respondent to these AD and CV duty investigations, and will base respondent selection on the responses it receives. Chinese exporters that don't get a quantity and value questionnaire can still submit one. Commerce posted the quantity and value questionnaire (here). Responses are due Feb. 22.
Scope of the AD/CVD Investigations
The merchandise covered by the investigation is certain biaxial integral geogrid products. Biaxial integral geogrid products are a polymer grid or mesh material (whether or not finished, slit, cut-to-length, attached to woven or non-woven fabric or sheet material, or packaged) in which four-sided openings in the form of squares, rectangles, rhomboids, diamonds, or other four-sided figures predominate. The products covered have integral strands that have been stretched to induce molecular orientation into the material (as evidenced by the strands being thinner toward the middle between the junctions than at the junctions themselves) constituting the sides of the openings and integral junctions where the strands intersect. The scope includes products in which four-sided figures predominate whether or not they also contain additional strands intersecting the four-sided figures and whether or not the inside corners of the four-sided figures are rounded off or not sharp angles. As used herein, the term “integral” refers to strands and junctions that are homogenous with each other. The products covered have a tensile strength of greater than 5 kilonewtons per meter (“kN/m”) according to American Society for Testing and Materials (“ASTM”) Standard Test Method D6637/D6637M in any direction and average overall flexural stiffness of more than 100,000 milligram-centimeter according to the ASTM D7748/D7748M Standard Test Method for Flexural Rigidity of Geogrids, Geotextiles and Related Products, or other equivalent test method standards.
Subject merchandise includes material matching the above description that has been finished, packaged, or otherwise further processed in a third country, including by trimming, slitting, coating, cutting, punching holes, stretching, attaching to woven or non-woven fabric or sheet material, or any other finishing, packaging, or other further processing that would not otherwise remove the merchandise from the scope of the investigations if performed in the country of manufacture of the biaxial integral geogrid.
The products subject to the scope are currently classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”) under the following subheading: 3926.90.9995. Subject merchandise may also enter under subheadings 3920.20.0050 and 3925.90.0000. The HTSUS subheadings set forth above are provided for convenience and U.S. Customs purposes only. The written description of the scope is dispositive.
Comments on Scope Due by Feb. 29
Comments on the scope of these investigations are due by Feb. 29.
Investigations Timetable
| Event | AD Duty | CV Duty |
|---|---|---|
| Petitions filed | 01/13/16 | 01/13/16 |
| DOC initiation date | 02/08/16 | 02/08/16 |
| ITC prelim determinations* | 02/29/16 | 02/29/16 |
| DOC prelim determinations† | 06/27/16 | 04/13/16 |
| DOC final determinations† | 09/12/16 | 06/27/16 |
| ITC final determinations‡ | 10/25/16 | 08/11/16 |
| Issuance of orders+ | 11/01/16 | 08/18/16 |
*If the ITC makes a negative determination of injury, the investigations are terminated.
†These deadlines may be extended under the governing statute.
‡This will take place only in the event of Commerce Department final affirmative determinations.
+This will take place only in the event of Commerce and ITC final affirmative determinations.
(See 1601140034 for summary of the Commerce Department's receipt of the petition underlying the initiation of this investigation.)
The AD duty initiation notice is (here).
The CV duty initiation notice is (here).
The Commerce Department fact sheet on the initiation of these investigations is (here).