The US Department of Commerce has revoked 2019 antidumping and countervailing duties on rubber bands from China and Thailand, according to a March 21 notice to the Federal Register.
On Jan. 2, the U.S. International Trade Commission instituted a five-year review on the duties "to determine whether revocation of the countervailing duty order on rubber bands from China and the antidumping duty orders on rubber bands from China and Thailand would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury".
Because "no domestic interested party filed a timely notice of intent to participate", the ITC said in its notice, the reviews were terminated "under authority of title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930". The revocations are effective as of Feb. 19 for rubber bands from China and April 26 for rubber bands from Thailand.
Under Sections 701 and 731 of the Tariff Act, Hot Springs, Ark.-based Alliance Rubber Co. petitioned the ITC in January 2018, accusing China, Thailand and Sri Lanka of selling their rubber bands in the U.S. at prices under fair value and subsidizing their rubber band procedures.
The ITC discontinued its investigation into Sri Lankan rubber bands in March that year. In July 2018, Commerce issued preliminary duties on China at 125.77 percent, and in September that same year, it issued preliminary duties on Thai rubber band imports of 5.86 percent - making an exception for Liang Hah Heng International Rubber Co. Ltd., against which it found zero antidumping duties.
After the ITC on Dec. 14, 2018, unanimously determined material injury to U.S. rubber band makers due to imports from China, Commerce issued its final orders on rubber bands from China on Feb. 19, 2019. It set countervailing duties of 27.27 percent, and it set antidumping duties of 125.77 percent for all imports, including mandatory respondents Graceful Imports & Exports Co. Ltd., Moyoung Trading Co. Ltd. and Ningbo Syloon Imports & Exports Co. Ltd.
Commerce issued its final antidumping order of 5.87 percent on Thai rubber band imports March 7, 2019. The order made final determinations of 5.87 percent against U. Yong Industry Co. Ltd. and all other Thai rubber band producers, expect Liang Hah Heng. ITC unanimously determined material injury to the domestic rubber band industry due to Thai imports after this on April 9, 2019.
Roy Goldberg, partner at Washington, D.C.-based Stinson L.L.P. and counsel for Alliance on the case, told Rubber News in an email that Alliance chose not to seek an extension of the orders at the time of the sunset review, "but fully reserves the right to proceed against importers and exporters that engage in dumping or illegal subsidies going forward and intends to pursue its rights under the applicable trade laws as conditions warrant".
Goldberg said Alliance's decision not to seek an extension was "a business decision based on the existing circumstances and the knowledge that if there is dumping or subsidies in the future, there is no bar to Alliance seeking a new order or orders at that time".