Eight Republicans Argue Vietnamese Plywood AD/CVD Scope Should Be Narrowed
Eight Republicans, led by Rep. Carol Miller, R-W.Va., asked the Commerce Department to reconsider how importers of hardwood plywood can participate in a certification regime, so that CBP knows those imports are not within the scope of an anti-circumvention case on Vietnamese hardwood plywood with Chinese inputs.
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The letter, publicized Oct. 1, says that Northwest Hardwoods, which has 20 manufacturing facilities around the country, found through an audit that its imported hardwood plywood is of Vietnamese origin, and not within the scope of the circumvention case, and shared that information with Commerce officials in April. However, the exporter that supplies the company didn't respond to questionnaires, and so on Aug. 8, a preliminary decision found that the plywood Northwest Hardwoods imports will be subject to AD/CVD.
"We urge your department to consider such information from NWH and other potentially affected importers as it renders its final decisions. We believe that American companies should not be disadvantaged due to a failure by Vietnamese firms to fully comply with questionnaires, where Commerce has independent record information confirming that a U.S. company’s imports are outside the scope of the relevant orders," they wrote. "The significant duties that Commerce previously instructed CBP to levy would cause severe harm to NWH’s U.S operations, potentially causing layoff of many employees as is the strain on its financial resources could force it to idle facilities."