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Just weeks after President Trump’s trip to Asia, where he visited China and received a lavish welcome, the U.S. commerce department decided to announce final countervailing duties on imports of tool chests and cabinets from China accusing the country of subsidizing those products.
In a statement released on the commerce department website, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has confirmed the final determination in the countervailing duty (CVD) investigation, finding that exporters of tool chests and cabinets from China received countervailable subsidies ranging from 14.03 percent to 95.96 percent. According to the statement, the U.S. commerce department will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency to collect cash deposits from importers of tool chests and cabinet from China. In 2016, imports of tool chests and cabinets from China were valued at an estimated $230 million.
Mr. Ross said, “The unfair government subsidization of products is something the Department takes very seriously….We will continue to take action on behalf of U.S. industry to defend American companies, their workers, and our communities adversely impacted by unfair imports.”
Since becoming President, Trump has instructed his team to take up the issue of trade balance and dumping of foreign products seriously. From January 20, 2017, through November 29th, 2017, the Commerce has initiated 77 antidumping and countervailing duty investigations; a 61 percent increase over the previous year.
CVD laws provide U.S. businesses and workers with an internationally accepted mechanism to seek relief from the harmful effects of unfair subsidization of imports into the United States. The Commerce Department currently maintains 407 antidumping and CVD orders which provide relief to American companies and industries impacted by unfair trade. President Trump has also initiated an investigation into China’s IPO laws that lead to the theft of United States’ intellectual properties.
