The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) announced the results of a final countervailing duty and antidumping duty (AD/CVD) investigation into wood mouldings and millwork products imported from China. Four commissioners plus USITC chair, Jason E. Kearns, voted unanimously to issue AD/CVD orders on imports, ruling that by subsidizing and selling in the U.S. at less than fair values, Chinese companies harm domestic providers.

The merchandise subject to investigations consists of mouldings and millwork products made of wood (regardless of species), bamboo, laminated veneer lumber (LVL) or wood plus composite materials, in cases where composites make up less than half of the overall composition. Involved mouldings are defined as those that are continuously shaped, finger-jointed or edge-glued blanks (whether or not re-sawn).

In 2019, the U.S. industry consisted of 15 producers, including 2,452 workers, USITC reports, together producing 178.8 million board feet in domestic shipments. The U.S. market consumes 1 billion board feet, officials say. At that rate, the ratio of subject imports to apparent U.S. consumption equals 24.8%. U.S. imports for the same products come primarily from Brazil, China and Chile, officials say, including around 250 million board feet of subject imports and another 590 million board feet of non-subject imports.

Among the petitioners prompting an investigation were members of the Coalition of American Millwork Producers, including Best Moulding Corp. of Albuquerque, N.M., Bright Wood Corp. of Madras, Ore., Cascade Wood Products Inc. in White City, Ore., Endura Products Inc. of Colfax, N.C., Menzner Lumber and Supply Co. in Marathon, Wis., Pacific Wood Laminates in Brookings, Ore., Sierra Pacific Industries of Red Bluff, Calif., Sunset Moulding in Live Oak, Calif., Woodgrain Millwork Inc. in Fruitland, Idaho, and Yuba River Moulding in Yuba River, Calif.

The determination follows notification by the International Trade Administration (ITA) that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters from China. ITA’s period of investigation ran January 1, 2019, through December 31, 2019. On June 12, 2020, Commerce published in the Federal Register a preliminary determination, followed by a preliminary scope memorandum on August 5 and an amended preliminary determination on August 20, revising the scope of its investigation. Among the mandatory respondents in the investigation were Fujian Yinfeng Imp & Exp Trading Co. Ltd. and Fujian Nanping Yuanqiao Wood-Industry Co. Ltd.

As a result of its preliminary determination, ITA instructed U.S. Customs and Border Protection to suspend liquidation of entries for the merchandise involved that was entered or withdrawn from warehouses for consumption, effective June 12, 2020.

A final USITC report is set to be released March 1, 2021, via USITC’s website, containing the views of the Commission and information developed during investigations.

For more details and weigh in from representatives of the Wood Moulding and Millwork Producers Association, look for additional coverage in next week’s newsletter.