A new US antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) case was filed on April 16, 2018 by Cambria Company LLC against imports of Certain Quartz Surface Products from China. The case targets numerous US importers and Chinese suppliers of this product which is commonly used in a variety of applications such as countertops, tiles, bar surfaces, shower and tub surrounds, fireplace surrounds, walls, floors, and bathroom vanities and other furniture surfaces.
The Department of Commerce and the ITC will next determine whether to launch AD and/or CVD duty and injury investigations, respectively, on these products. Commerce will be responsible for calculating the ultimate AD/CVD margins on the imports, while the ITC will conduct a concurrent investigation to determine if the imports are injuring the U.S. industry. If Commerce finds dumping or unfair subsidization in its preliminary determinations, currently scheduled for July 10, 2018 (CVD) and September 23, 2018 (AD), importers will be charged the calculated duties upon the products’ entry in the U.S. market.
There are strict statutory deadlines associated with these proceedings and affected companies are advised to prepare as soon as possible. If this product is of interest to you, please let us know so that we can provide you with additional information as it becomes available.
The following are key facts about this trade case:
Petitioners: Cambria Company LLC
Foreign Producers/Exporters and US Importers: Please contact us for a listing of individual companies named in the petition.
Alleged AD and CVD margins: Petitioner has alleged AD margins of 455.65% and CVD margins above de minimis.
Merchandise covered by the scope of the case: The physical characteristics of the covered products, which define the scope, are as follows: The merchandise covered by the investigation is certain quartz surface products. Quartz surface products consist of slabs and other surfaces created from a mixture of materials that includes predominately silica (e.g., quartz, quartz powder, cristobalite) as well as a resin binder (e.g., an unsaturated polyester). The incorporation of other materials, including but not limited to pigments, cement or other additives, does not remove the merchandise from the scope of the investigation. Quartz surface products are typically sold as slabs with a total surface area of approximately 45 to 60 square feet and a nominal thickness of 1 centimeter, 2 centimeters, or 3 centimeters. However, the scope of this investigation includes products of all sizes, thicknesses, and shapes. Quartz surface products are covered by the investigation whether polished or unpolished, cut or uncut, fabricated or not fabricated, cured or uncured, edged or not edged, finished or unfinished, thermoformed or not thermoformed, further processed or not further processed, packaged or unpackaged, and regardless of the type of surface finish.
In addition, quartz surface products are covered by the investigation whether or not they are imported attached to or in conjunction with non-subject merchandise such as sinks, sink bowls, vanities, cabinets, and furniture. If quartz surface products are imported attached to or in conjunction with such non-subject merchandise, only the quartz surface product is covered by the scope.
Excluded from the scope of the investigation are quarried stone slabs such as granite, marble, soapstone, or quartzite.
Subject merchandise includes material matching the above description that has been finished, packaged, or otherwise fabricated or further processed in a third country, including by cutting, polishing, curing, edging, thermoforming, attaching to or packaging with another product, or any other finishing, packaging, fabrication, or further processing that would not otherwise remove the merchandise from the scope of the investigation if performed in the country of manufacture of the quartz surface products.
The products subject to the scope are currently classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”) under the following subheading: 6810.99.0010. Subject merchandise may also enter under subheadings 6802.91, 6802.93, 6810.11.0010, 6810.11.0070, 6810.19.1200, 6810.19.1400, 6810.19.5000, 6810.91.0000, 6810.99.0080, 6815.91.0070, 2506.10.0010, 2506.10.0050, 2506.10.2000, 2506.20.0010, 2506.20.0080, 2506.20.9000, 2515.11.0000, 2516.12.0000, 2515.12.1000, 2515.12.2000, 2515.12.9000, 2516.11.0000, 2516.12.0000, 2516.20.1000, 2517.41.0000, and 2529.10.0000. The HTSUS subheadings set forth above are provided for convenience and U.S. Customs purposes only. The written description of the scope is dispositive.
