US Department of Commerce issues affirmative preliminary determination in the countervailing duty investigation of imports of ceramic tile from China

Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced the affirmative preliminary determination in the countervailing duty (CVD) investigation of imports of ceramic tile from China, finding countervailable subsidy rates ranging from 103.77 to 222.24 percent.

As a result of today’s decision, Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits from importers of ceramic tile from China based on these preliminary rates.
In 2018, imports of ceramic tile from China were valued at an estimated $483.1 million.
The petitioner is the Coalition for Fair Trade in Ceramic Tile. The members of the Coalition are American Wonder Porcelain (Lebanon, TN), Crossville, Inc. (Crossville, TN), Dal-Tile Corporation (Dallas, TX), Del Conca USA, Inc. (Loudon, TN), Florida Tile, Inc. (Lexington, KY), Florim USA (Clarksville, TN), Landmark Ceramics (Mount Pleasant, TN), and StonePeak Ceramics (Chicago, IL).
The strict enforcement of U.S. trade law is a primary focus of the Trump Administration. Since the beginning of the current Administration, Commerce has initiated 182 new antidumping and countervailing duty investigations – a 231 percent increase from the comparable period in the previous administration.
Antidumping and countervailing duty laws provide American businesses and workers with an internationally accepted mechanism to seek relief from the harmful effects of the unfair pricing of imports into the United States. Commerce currently maintains 494 antidumping and countervailing duty orders which provide relief to American companies and industries impacted by unfair trade.
Commerce is currently scheduled to announce its final CVD determination on or about January 22, 2020.
If Commerce makes an affirmative final determination, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) will be scheduled to make its final injury determination on or about March 6, 2020. If Commerce makes an affirmative final determination in this investigation, and the ITC makes an affirmative final injury determination, Commerce will issue a CVD order. If Commerce makes a negative final determination, or the ITC makes a negative final determination of injury, the investigation will be terminated and no order will be issued.