CBP Affirms EAPA Evasion Finding for Mattress Importers
CBP has issued a formal determination that affirms that 12 importers evaded antidumping and countervailing duties for transshipping Chinese-origin mattresses through South Korea. The importers also had claimed that the country of origin for the mattresses was South Korea.
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According to the Sept. 26 CBP notice, the importers are Beanomy, IYEE Nature, Kelanch, Wakodo Household Supply, Xinshidian Trading, Zevoky, Kakaivy, Weekaly, Heniddy, Ryan James Engineering, Sunwind Trading and Anlowo.
Because “CBP has determined that there is substantial evidence of evasion of AD/CVD duties by the Importers,” the agency issued a number of enforcement actions, including suspending or continuing to suspend the entries covered by this investigation, until instructed to liquidate; rate adjusting and changing entries that were subject to interim measures to type 03 entries and continuing those entries’ suspensions until the companies are instructed to liquidate those entries; and continuing to evaluate importers’ continuous bonds in accordance with CBP’s policies.
The proceeding began when Zinus USA alleged in November 2023 that the importers were violating the antidumping duty orders and the countervailing duty orders on mattresses from China (see 2402260044).
CBP said in the September notice that it conducted investigations on the allegations, which included cargo investigations and analyses of invoices, packing lists, bills of lading and shipment receipt documentation belonging to the importers and their partners.
“Because the South Korean Suppliers lack manufacturing facilities in South Korea, two of the South Korean suppliers admitted to transshipping Chinese mattresses through South Korea, and trademark information and CBP cargo exams link all 12 Importers to Foshan Aiyi or other Chinese manufacturers of mattresses, CBP finds that there is substantial evidence that the Importers, who declared their entries of mattresses into the United States as country of origin South Korea, are sourcing mattresses from China,” CBP said in its determination. The importers also failed to declare their Chinese-origin mattresses as subject to AD/CVD, thereby evading the China orders, CBP said.
CBP also said in its determination that it “provided the Importers with multiple opportunities to respond to their RFIs and demonstrate that their imports were mattresses that had been produced in South Korea as declared on the entry documentation, and, as such, that the Importers had accurately represented their entries of South Korean-origin mattresses and were not evading the Orders.”
However, “None of the Importers responded to their respective RFIs. Therefore, due to the documented failure of the Importers to participate by responding to CBP’s RFIs, CBP finds that the Importers did not cooperate to the best of their abilities in this EAPA investigation.”
ITT reached out to the importers for comment but did not receive replies by deadline.