Senators Say ITA’s Move to Narrow Scope of China AD Candle Order Will Harm Domestic Industry
On February 1, 2011, Senator Portman (R), along with Senate colleagues, sent a letter to Secretary of Commerce Locke urging the Commerce Department to enforce existing trade law on the books in order to protect the domestic candle industry from unfair competition.
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The letter indicates that the Senators’ constituents and the National Candle Association (NCA) have raised concerns that the International Trade Administration’s (ITA’s) preliminary interpretation to redefine the scope of the antidumping (AD) duty order against petroleum wax candles from China will result in severe harm to the domestic candle industry well into the future.
According to the letter, in December 2010, the International Trade Commission (ITC), in its sunset review of the AD duty order, found that the U.S. industry would likely be harmed if the AD duty order were revoked, and that the dumping of candles from China and other countries would likely resume.
The Senators conclude their letter by urging Secretary Locke to provide all due, appropriate, and expeditious consideration of the NCA’s comments on the preliminary interpretation, and to protect the integrity of the AD duty order.
(In an August 2010 preliminary new interpretation, ITA said the scope of the order would consist of the listed candle shapes (i.e., tapers, spirals, and straight-sided dinner candles; rounds, columns pillars, votives, and various wax-filled containers), regardless of etchings, prints, texture, moldings or other artistic or decorative enhancements including any holiday-related art. However, ITA would exclude certain “utility” and birthday candles from this new interpretation, even if in one of these shapes.
Since 2001, the ITA has determined that if a candle was made from petroleum wax and had a fiber or paper-cored wick, it fell within the scope of the order regardless of its shape, unless the candle possesses the characteristics of novelty candle (e.g. Christmas novelty candles) in which case it was excepted and not within the scope.
(See ITT’s Online Archives or 08/13/10 news, 10081321, for BP summary of the ITA's August preliminary new scope interpretation. See ITT’s Online Archives or 10/05/10 news, 10100520, for BP summary of comments from NCA and importers.)