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New AD/CV Duties Requested on Glycine From India, South Korea, Thailand and China

Two U.S. manufacturers filed a petition on March 27-28 with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping duties on glycine from India, South Korea and Thailand, and new countervailing duties on glycine from China, India and Thailand. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations on glycine that could eventually result in the assessment of AD/CV duties.

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Any AD/CV duties imposed would come on top of an existing AD duty order on glycine from China. The scopes of these newly requested investigations, while similar, also specifically mention glycine precursors and glycine for additional uses, including in pharmaceuticals. The scope of the existing AD duty order on China also only mentions glycine in crystalline form, while the scopes of the newly requested investigations cover "glycine in any form and at any purity level or grade, regardless of additives."

Antidumping duty orders were also requested in 2007 on glycine from India, Japan and South Korea, but those investigations ended with determinations of no injury to U.S. industry.

Proposed Scope

The petition proposes the following scope for the investigations:

The merchandise covered by this investigation is glycine, which in its solid (i.e., crystallized) form is a free-flowing crystalline material, like salt or sugar. Glycine is produced at varying levels of purity or grades. It is used as a sweetener/taste enhancer, buffering agent, cleaning and polishing agent, reabsorbable amino acid, chemical intermediate, metal complexing agent, and dietary supplement. It also has other pharmaceutical, industrial, medical and cosmetic applications. The scope of this investigation covers glycine in any form and at any purity level or grade, regardless of additives. Glycine's chemical composition is C2H5NO2 and is classified, since July 1, 2017, under subheading 2922.49.43.00 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States ("HTSUS"); before that date, it was classified under subheading 2922.49.40.20 of the HTSUS.

The scope of this investigation also covers precursors of dried crystalline glycine, including, but not limited to, glycine slurry (i.e., glycine in a non-crystallized form), sodium glycinate and a non-reacted ammonia-monochloroacetic or chloroaectic acid mix. Glycine slurry is classified under the same HTSUS as crystallized glycine (2922.49.43.00 as of July 1, 2017, and 2922.49.40.20 before that date), sodium glycinate is classified under HTSUS 2922.49.80.00, and the non-reacted ammonia-monochloroacetic or chloroacetic acid mix has been classified under a number of HTSUS 2922.49 subheadings. Because HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and Customs purposes, our written description of the scope of this investigation is dispositive.

Commerce Accepting Comments on Petition Support

The Commerce Department is accepting comments on domestic industry support for the petitions to determine whether the petitions meet the dual requirements of support by domestic producers or workers accounting for (1) at least 25% of the total production of the domestic-like product and (2) more than 50% of the production of the domestic-like product produced by that portion of the industry expressing support for, or opposition to, the petition. If the petitions meet these requirements, among others, Commerce will initiate antidumping and countervailing duty investigations. Comments are due on or about April 16.

Email ITTNews@warren-news.com for a copy of the petition.