U.S. Industry Lauds U.S. Department of Commerce’s Affirmative Final Antidumping Duty Determinations on Imports of Steel Propane Cylinders from China and Thailand

WASHINGTON, June 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- On June 18, 2019, the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) announced affirmative final determinations that producers and exporters of steel propane cylinders from China and Thailand are selling subject merchandise at less than fair value, and that Chinese producers and exporters are also subsidized by the Government of China, at the following rates: 

"The domestic steel propane cylinders producers were driven to file this petition after losing sales and revenue to low-priced imports from China and Thailand over the past several years," said Paul Rosenthal, counsel to the domestic industry.  "The Commerce Department's final determinations confirm that the Chinese and Thai imports were not being fairly traded, putting the competing domestic industry in a tenuous position.  These affirmative final determinations bring the domestic industry one step closer to antidumping and countervailing duty orders."  

U.S. Customs and Border Protection began collecting preliminary countervailing duties (CVD) from China on October 26, 2018, and preliminary antidumping duties (AD) for both China and Thailand on December 27, 2018, when Commerce published its preliminary affirmative determinations in the respective cases. 

Importers will be required to post cash deposits at these new final rates if and when an affirmative injury determination by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) is published in the Federal Register (scheduled for early August 2019).  The final Chinese AD margins announced today will be adjusted for subsidy offsets to a "cash deposit rate," which is applied in addition to the final CVD rates also announced for China.

The issuance of Commerce's final determinations for China and Thailand  coincides with the final phase of the ITC's injury investigation into whether those imports are causing material injury to the domestic industry.  The ITC reached an affirmative preliminary determination on July 12, 2018, finding a reasonable indication that the domestic industry is materially injured by the unfairly trade steel propane cylinders imports.  The ITC held a public hearing in its final investigation on June 5, 2019, and is expected to reach its final determination by early August 2019.  The ITC's final decision will determine whether AD and CVD orders are imposed.   

Background

The two domestic producers of steel propane cylinders – Worthington Industries and Manchester Tank and Equipment Co. – filed petitions with the ITC and Commerce on May 22, 2018 alleging that dumped imports of steel propane cylinders from China and Thailand, and subsidized imports of steel propane cylinders from China, are causing material injury to the domestic industry.    

The product covered by the petition are steel cylinders for compressed or liquefied propane or other gases meeting the requirements of, or produced to meet the requirements of, U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Specifications 4B, 4BA, or 4BW, or TransportCanada Specification 4BM, 4BAM, or 4BWM, or United Nations pressure receptacle standard ISO 4706, within the size range of 2.5 pound nominal gas capacity to 42 pound nominal gas capacity.  Steel propane cylinders are commonly used to transport, store, and dispense propane gas to barbecues, outdoor heaters, fire pits, and recreational vehicles.

The petitioning companies are represented by Kelley Drye & Warren LLP.

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SOURCE Kelley Drye & Warren LLP