US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced the initiation and preliminary decisions of antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations last week, by the Department of Commerce, concerning hardwood plywood from China and carbon and alloy steel wire rod from ten separate countries.

“The Department of Commerce will act swiftly to halt any possible unfair trade practices against US companies while also assuring a full and fair assessment of the facts,” said Ross. “The Trump administration is unequivocally committed to the vigorous enforcement of America’s trade laws and will ensure US businesses and workers are treated fairly.”

The department issued an affirmative preliminary determination in the CVD investigation of imports of hardwood plywood from China, and initiated AD investigations of imports of carbon and alloy steel wire rod from Belarus, Korea, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. Both AD and CVD cases were initiated on imports of carbon and alloy steel wire rod from Italy and Turkey.

The department found that the hardwood plywood from China had been unfairly subsidized at margins ranging from 9.89 percent to 111.09 percent.

The total US import value of hardwood plywood from China and carbon and alloy steel wire rod from the 10 listed countries is respectively $1.15 billion and $272.2 million.

Since January 20, the Department of Commerce has opened 24 trade enforcement investigations relating to alleged dumping or unfair subsidization of more than $2.3 billion worth of US imports, and has made preliminary or final determinations on 34 antidumping/countervailing duty investigations impacting more than $3.6 billion of dumped or unfairly subsidized domestic imports.

Antidumping (AD) and Countervailing Duty (CVD) laws provide US businesses and workers with an internationally accepted mechanism to seek relief from the injurious effects of dumped and unfairly subsidized imports into the United States.