China drops antidumping order against U.S. kraft linerboard imports

China drops antidumping order against U.S. kraft linerboard imports    The Chinese government has decided to repeal its antidumping order on kraft linerboard imports from the United States, following negotiations between the two countries.
   In September 2005, China’s Ministry of Commerce issued a final determination finding that U.S. producers were dumping kraft linerboard on the Chinese market at margins ranging from 12.9 percent to 65.2 percent. The Chinese government made the decision based on a petition filed by four Chinese kraft linerboard manufacturers.
   The Chinese government also found that producers from Thailand, South Korea and Taiwan were dumping kraft liner board on the Chinese market, causing harm to domestic producers.
   Under international trade laws, a country accuses another country’s producers of dumping when it believes products are being imported below their cost of production or home market price, and the country believes its own producers are being injured by those imports.
   The United States immediately protested China’s antidumping order, citing that China may have breached its obligations under the World Trade Organization.
   “As we made clear to the Chinese government last week, the United States was on the verge of filing a WTO case if this issue was not resolved in a satisfactory manner,” said U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portmann, in a statement Tuesday. “I’m pleased that through negotiations we were able to persuade China to terminate these unfair barriers to U.S. products.”
   According to the USTR, China is the second-largest market for U.S. kraft linerboard makers, with exports exceeding $132 million in 2004.