Commerce finds subsidies in Chinese tool chest imports

The Commerce Department has determined that Chinese-made tool chests and cabinets that are imported into the United States receive unfair subsidies from the Chinese government.    The Commerce Department has determined that Chinese-made tool chests and cabinets imported into the United States receive unfair subsidies from the Chinese government. 
   Countervailable subsidies are financial assistance from a foreign government which are given out to a company based on either its export performance or use of domestic inputs over imported goods in manufacturing its products. 
   Commerce has calculated preliminary subsidy rates of 17.32 percent for Jiangsu Tongrun Equipment Technology Co., Ltd., and 32.07 percent for Zhongshan Geelong Manufacturing Co., Ltd. All other producers/exporters of tool chests and cabinets in China have been assigned a preliminary subsidy rate of 27.13 percent.
   Commerce will now instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to require cash deposits for these imports based on these preliminary rates.
   Waterloo Industries of Missouri filed a petition for the countervailing duty investigation on April 11. 
   Commerce estimated that imports of tool chests and cabinets from China in 2016 were at $989.9 million.
   Commerce is scheduled to announce its final determination in this investigation by Nov. 23. If the department makes an affirmative final determination, and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) also makes an affirmative final determination that imports of certain tool chests and cabinets from China harm domestic industry, Commerce will then issue a countervailing duty order. If either Commerce’s or the ITC’s final determinations are negative, no countervailing duty order be issued. The ITC is scheduled to make its final injury determination by Jan. 6, 2018.