Global Geopolitical Series: U.S. Commerce hails historic self-initiated AD investigations on imports of Aluminum sheet from China

In a statement released yesterday, the U.S. Commerce Department hailed the department’s historic decision to self-initiate the anti-dumping (AD) investigations on imports of Alloy Aluminum sheets from China as it concluded its preliminary findings. The final announcement would come before the end of October 2018.

In its preliminary investigation, it has found that exporters from China have sold common alloy aluminum sheet in the United States at 167.16 percent less than fair value.  The department has asked the U.S. customs and border protection agency to collect cash deposits from importers based on the above rate.

The announcement is not just historic but a massive one as the U.S. imported $900 million worth of Aluminum sheets from China in 2017. The decision is likely to damage the Chinese producers significantly, whereas it would increase cost for importers.

The department released a statement that quoted the Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross as saying, “The Department of Commerce will do everything in its power to stop the flow of unfairly subsidized or dumped goods into U.S. markets……We will continue to strictly enforce U.S. laws to defend American workers, industries, and communities from the scourge of unfair and unbalanced trade.”