The U.S. Department of Commerce released preliminary findings that China and Mexico unfairly subsidize their van-type trailer industries. It also dropped Canada from the investigation.
"When foreign governments prop up exports, U.S. companies and workers pay the price," says Robert E. DeFrancesco, trade counsel to the petitioner, the American Trailer Manufacturers Coalition, and a partner in Wiley's international trade practice. "The Commerce Department's decision helps counter these unfair practices in Mexico, where Commerce recently found that the largest producer also received subsidies for a related product, and China, where the primary trailer producer is part of a Chinese, state-owned entity."
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The coalition includes U.S. trailer producers Great Dane, Stoughton Trailers and Wabash Corporation. It applauds the department's decision and says it looks forward to the preliminary determination in an antidumping case this summer. The group also asked Commerce to drop Canada from its investigation, which began in January.
Commerce calculated countervailing duties ranging from 82.3%-128.7% for Chinese trailers and 1.9-1.95% for Mexican trailers. After Commerce publishes its preliminary determination in the Federal Register, it will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to begin suspending liquidation and collecting preliminary duties on entries of certain trailers from China and Mexico, including possibly Chinese trailers and subassemblies shipped to the U.S. through Canada.
The department continues to investigate allegations that may increase the final rate. The final determination is expected to be issued for China in August and Mexico's is expected in December. These rates don't yet include any rates from an ongoing antidumping investigations of van-type trailers, which could be added to the preliminary subsidy rates. The preliminary dumping determination for China will be announced Tuesday and July 30 for Canada and Mexico.
