U.S. pours on duties for dumped citric salts

The Commerce Department has finalized antidumping duty amounts for imports of citric acid and certain citrate salts from Belgium, Colombia and Thailand.    The Commerce Department has finalized antidumping duty amounts for U.S. imports of citric acid and certain citrate salts from Belgium, Colombia and Thailand.
   However, the department found no evidence of damaging government subsidies during its countervailing duty investigation into these imports from Thailand. 
   Dumping occurs when a foreign company sells its products in the United States at less than fair value, while countervailable subsidies involve myriad foreign government grants and funds given to domestic manufacturers based on their export performance.
   In its Belgium antidumping investigation, Commerce calculated a dumping rate of 19.3 percent for S.A. Citrique Belge N.V., and set the same rate for all other Belgian producers and exporters of citric acid and salts. 
   In Commerce’s Colombia antidumping investigation, the department generated a dumping rate of 28.48 percent for Sucroal S.A. The same dumping rate also will apply to all other producers and exporters of citric acid and salts in the South American country. 
   In its Thailand antidumping investigation, Commerce calculated a dumping rate of 15.71 percent for COFCO Biochemical (Thailand) Co. Ltd. Commerce also calculated dumping rates of 13 percent for Niran (Thailand) Co. Ltd. and 6.47 percent for Sunshine Biotech International Co. Ltd. All other Thai producers and exporters of this commodity received a dumping rate of 11.25 percent.
   As a result of its antidumping determinations, Commerce has instructed Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to collect cash deposits equal to the applicable final dumping margins.
   According to Commerce, imports of citric acid and certain citrate salts from Belgium, Colombia and Thailand in 2017 were valued at $9.4 million, $17.6 million and $73.2 million, respectively. Citric acid often is used by the food and beverage industry as a preservative or flavor enhancer. 
   The petitioners for the antidumping and countervailing duty investigations included Cargill in Minnesota and Archer Daniels Midland Co. and Tate & Lyle Ingredients Americas, both of Illinois. 
   The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) is scheduled to make its final determinations for these antidumping investigations by July 6. If the ITC makes affirmative final injury determinations, Commerce will issue antidumping orders. If the ITC makes negative final determinations of injury, the investigations will end and no orders will be issued.
   Since the start of the Trump administration, Commerce has initiated 114 new antidumping and countervailing duty investigations. This is 78 percent more than the 64 initiations in the last 494 days of the previous administration, the administration said.