U.S. investigates Chinese wood floor dumping

U.S. investigates Chinese wood floor dumping    The U.S. Commerce Department on Nov. 10 initiated antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on imports of multilayered wood flooring from China.
   Dumping occurs when a foreign company sells a product in the United States at less than normal value. For the purpose of countervailing duty investigations, subsidies are financial assistance from foreign governments that benefit the production, manufacture or exportation of goods.
   The petitioner for these investigations is the Coalition for American Hardwood Parity, an ad hoc association of U.S. manufacturers of multilayered wood flooring, whose members include Anderson Hardwood Floors in South Carolina, Award Hardwood Floors of Wisconsin, Baker's Creek Wood Floors in Mississippi, From the Forest of Wisconsin, Howell Hardwood Flooring in Alabama, Mannington Mills of New Jersey, Nydree Flooring in Virginia, and Shaw Industries Group of Georgia.
   The merchandise covered by these investigations is multilayered wood flooring, composed of an assembly of two or more layers or plies of wood veneers in combination with a core. The core may be composed of hardwood or softwood veneer, particleboard, medium-density fiberboard, high-density fiberboard, stone and/or plastic composite, or strips of lumber placed edge-to-edge. These products are generally used in residential or commercial buildings, as well as in schools, showrooms, gymnasiums and other constructions.
   According to the Commerce Department, imports of multilayered wood flooring from China increased 76 percent by quantity from 2007 to 2009. In 2009 imports of multilayered wood flooring were valued at an estimated $119.7 million.
   The U.S. International Trade Commission is scheduled to make its preliminary injury determination on or about Dec. 6. If the ITC determines there is a reasonable indication that imports from China are materially injuring, or threatening material injury to, the domestic industry, the investigations will continue, and the Commerce Department will be scheduled to make its countervailing preliminary determination in January 2011 and its antidumping preliminary determination in March 2011.