China Wood Flooring: Preliminary Affirmative AD Determination
The International Trade Administration has made a preliminary affirmative antidumping duty determination on multilayered wood flooring from China (A-570-970). As a result, AD duties on subject merchandise are being imposed for the first time. Note that the preliminary determination in a companion countervailing duty investigation was issued in March, with estimated CV duty rates ranging from zero to 27.01%.
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Combination Rates
The ITA has calculated combination rates for respondents that are eligible for a separate rate in this AD investigation. (See ITT's Online Archives or 04/11/05 news, 05041110, for BP summary of 2005 policy bulletin outlining this change in practice with regard to AD combination rates for non-market economies (NMEs).)
AD Suspension of Liquidation
The ITA will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to suspend liquidation for AD purposes of all appropriate entries of multilayered wood flooring from China (except entries by Layo or Yuhua, as their preliminary AD duty rates are zero) with a time of entry on or after May 26, 2011.
AD Cash Deposit/Bond Requirements
At the same time, the ITA will also instruct CBP to require a cash deposit or the posting of a bond equal to the preliminary estimated AD duty rates below for all entries of subject merchandise from China with a time of entry on or after May 26, 2011.
| Exporter | Prelim AD Rate |
| Zhejiang Layo Wood Industry Co., Ltd.; Jiaxing Brilliant Import & Export Co., Ltd. (Layo) | 0.00%1 |
| Zhejiang Yuhua Timber Co., Ltd. (Yuhua) | 0.00%1 |
| Baroque Timber Industries (Zhongshan) Co., Ltd.; Riverside Plywood Corporation;Samling Elegant Living Trading (Labuan) Limited; Samling Riverside Co., Ltd.; and Suzhou Times Flooring Co., Ltd. (collectively, the Samling Group) | 10.88% |
| Jiaxing Brilliant Import & Export Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| MuDanJiang Bosen Wood Industry Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| MuDanJiang Bosen Wood Industry Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Huzhou Chenghang Wood Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Hangzhou Hanje Tec Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Nakahiro Jyou Sei Furniture (Dalian) Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Shenyang Haobainian Wooden Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Shenyang Haobainian Wooden Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Shenyang Haobainian Wooden Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Dalian Dajen Wood Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| HaiLin LinJing Wooden Products, Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Dun Hua Sen Tai Wood Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Dunhua Jisheng Wood Industry Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Hunchun Forest Wolf Industry Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Guangzhou Panyu Southern Star Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Nanjing Minglin Wooden Industry Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Zhejiang Fudeli Timber Industry Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Suzhou Dongda Wood Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Guangzhou Pan Yu Kang Da Board Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Kornbest Enterprises Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Metropolitan Hardwood Floors, Inc. | 10.88% |
| Metropolitan Hardwood Floors, Inc. | 10.88% |
| Metropolitan Hardwood Floors, Inc. | 10.88% |
| Metropolitan Hardwood Floors, Inc. | 10.88% |
| Metropolitan Hardwood Floors, Inc. | 10.88% |
| Metropolitan Hardwood Floors, Inc. | 10.88% |
| Zhejiang Longsen Lumbering Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Xinyuan Wooden Industry Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Dasso Industrial Group Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Hong Kong Easoon Wood Technology Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Armstrong Wood Products Kunshan Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Baishan Huafeng Wooden Product Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Changbai Mountain Development and Protection Zone Hongtu Wood Industry Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Changzhou Hawd Flooring Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Dalian Jiuyuan Wood Industry Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Dalian Penghong Floor Products Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Dongtai Fuan Universal Dynamics LLC | 10.88% |
| Dunhua City Dexin Wood Industry Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Dunhua City Hongyuan Wood Industry Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Dunhua City Jisen Wood Industry Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Dunhua City Wanrong Wood Industry Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Fusong Jinlong Wooden Group Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Fusong Qianqiu Wooden Product Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| GTP International | 10.88% |
| GTP International | 10.88% |
| GTP International | 10.88% |
| GTP International | 10.88% |
| Guangdong Yihua Timber Industry Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| HaiLin LinJing Wooden Products, Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Huzhou Fulinmen Imp & Exp. Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Huzhou Fuma Wood Bus. Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Jiafeng Wood (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Jiashan Hui Jia Le Decoration Material Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Jilin Forest Industry Jinqiao Flooring Group Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Karly Wood Product Limited | 10.88% |
| Kunshan Yingyi-Nature Wood Industry Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Puli Trading Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Shanghai Eswell Timber Co. Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Shanghai Lairunde Wood Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Shanghai New Sihe Wood Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Shanghai Shenlin Corporation | 10.88% |
| Shenzhenshi Huanwei Woods Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Vicwood Industry (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Xiamen Yung De Ornament Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Xuzhou Shenghe Wood Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Yixing Lion-King Timber Industry Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Jiangsu Simba Flooring Industry Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Zhejiang Biyork Wood Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Zhejiang Dadongwu GreenHome Wood Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Zhejiang Desheng Wood Industry Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Zhejiang Shiyou Timber Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Zhejiang Tianzhen Bamboo & Wood Development Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Chinafloors Timber (China) Co. Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Shanghai Lizhong Wood Products Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Fine Furniture (Shanghai) Limited | 10.88% |
| Huzhou Sunergy World Trade Co. Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Huzhou Sunergy World Trade Co. Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Huzhou Sunergy World Trade Co. Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Huzhou Jesonwood Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Huzhou Jesonwood Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| A&W (Shanghai) Woods Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| A&W (Shanghai) Woods Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Fu Lik Timber (HK) Company Limited | 10.88% |
| Yekalon Industry, Inc./Sennorwell International Group (Hong Kong) Limited | 10.88% |
| Kemian Wood Industry (Kunshan) Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Dalian Kemian Wood Industry Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Dalian Huilong Wooden Products Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| Jiangsu Senmao Bamboo and Wood Industry Co., Ltd. | 10.88% |
| China-wide entity | 82.65% |
(For all non-China exporters of subject merchandise which have not received their own rate, the AD duty cash deposit rate will be the rate applicable to the China exporter/producer combination that supplied that non-China exporter.)
1Because the ITA has found a preliminary estimated AD duty rate of zero for subject merchandise produced and exported by Layo or Yuhua, no AD cash deposits are currently required for these exporter/producer combinations. However, they remain subject to the investigation, and their rates could change in the final determination.
Comments Requested on Possible Elimination of HTS Numbers from Scope
The ITA states that CBP has indicated that imports of subject merchandise entering under HTS subheadings 4409.10.0500; 4409.10.2000; 4409.29.0515; 4409.29.0525; 4409.29.0535; 4409.29.0545; 4409.29.0555; 4409.29.0565; 4409.29.2530; 4409.29.2550; 4409.29.2560; 4418.71.1000; 4418.79.0000; and 4418.90.4605 would be incorrectly classified.
Therefore, the ITA invites comment on whether those HTS subheadings should be eliminated from the scope description. Comments are due by June 15, 2011, and rebuttal comments are due by June 20.
In all other respects, the scope of the investigation is currently unchanged.
Prelim Targeted Dumping for Layo & Samling, Alt Methodology Used for Samling
The ITA has preliminarily found targeted dumping with respect to sales made by Layo and the Samling Group, i.e. that they have a pattern of prices for U.S. sales of comparable merchandise that differ significantly among certain purchasers and regions. The ITA also finds that the result of using the standard average-to-average methodology is not substantially different from that using the alternative average-to-transaction methodology for Layo because both methods result in a zero margin.
Accordingly, for this preliminary determination the ITA has applied the standard average-to-average methodology to all sales that Layo reported, and the alternative average-to-transaction methodology to all U.S. sales that Samling Group reported.
(Note that in December 2008, the ITA issued an interim final rule withdrawing the regulations governing targeted dumping analysis in AD duty investigations. See ITT's Online Archives or 12/15/08 and 01/15/09 news, 08121525 and 09011535, for BP summaries of the interim final rule and extension of the comment period.)
Final AD Determination Deadline, Provisional Measures Extended
Pursuant to timely requests by the petitioner in this investigation, the ITA is also extending the deadline for issuance of the final determination until 135 days after May 26, 2011, and is extending provisional measures to not longer than six months.
(See ITA notice for more information, including the scope of the investigation (which is currently unchanged from the initiation notice), etc.
See ITT's Online Archives or 05/23/11 news, 11052315, for BP summary of the fact sheet announcing this preliminary determination.
See ITT's Online Archives or 04/06/11 news, 11040615, for BP summary of the ITA’s preliminary CV duty determination on subject merchandise.
See ITT’s Online Archives or 05/09/11 news, 11050955, for BP summary of the ITA’s alignment of the final AD and CV duty determinations.)
ITA contact - Charles Riggle (202) 482-0650
(FR Pub 05/26/11, ITA Case No. A-570-970)