U.S. dumping duties readied for Chinese ribbon

Berwick Offray of Pennsylvania petitioned Commerce to launch an investigation.    The Commerce Department has set dumping duties for U.S. imports of certain decorative plastic ribbon from China.
   Dumping occurs when a foreign company sells its product in the U.S. at less than fair value.
   Based on its antidumping investigation of this product, Commerce assigned a preliminary dumping rate of 370.04 percent to Ricai Film Artwork Materials Co. Ltd., followed by preliminary dumping rates of 50.93 percent for Dongguan Mei Song Plastic Industry Co. Ltd. and 45.16 percent for Ningbo Junlong Craft Gift Co. Ltd. The department also assigned a preliminarily dumping rate of 48.05 percent for all other Chinese decorative ribbon exporters.
   Commerce said it will now instruct Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits from U.S. importers of the Chinese ribbon based on the preliminary rates. 
   The department estimated that U.S. imports of Chinese-produced plastic decorative ribbon in 2017 were valued at $22.5 million.
   The petitioner for the Commerce antidumping investigation was Berwick Offray of Berwick, Pa.
   “We are pleased with the department’s preliminary determination as it confirms the substantial level of dumping that is occurring in the U.S. market,” said Daniel B. Pickard, counsel to Berwick Offray and a partner in the International Trade Practice at Wiley Rein, in a statement. “After this determination, we are one step closer to restoring a level playing field and bringing relief to a U.S. industry that has been injured by dumped and subsidized imports of Chinese producers.”
   Commerce is scheduled to announce its final determination for this antidumping investigation by Oct. 16. 
   If Commerce’s final determination is affirmative, the U.S. International Trade Commission will make its final injury determination on Nov. 29. If Commerce makes an affirmative final determination of dumping, and the ITC makes an affirmative final injury determination, Commerce will issue an antidumping order. However, if Commerce makes a negative final dumping determination, or the ITC finds no injury to U.S. industry, the investigation will end and no antidumping order will be issued.