US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross has announced the affirmative preliminary determinations in the countervailing duty (CVD) investigations of stainless steel flanges from China and India, finding that exporters in China and India received countervailable subsidies of 174.73 percent, and from 5.00 to 239.61 percent, respectively.

The Commerce Department will instruct US Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits from importers of stainless steel flanges from China and India based on these preliminary rates.

“With a 58 percent increase in trade cases initiated since President Trump took office, this administration has made it a clear priority to defend domestic businesses from unfair trade practices,” said Ross. “Today’s preliminary decision allows US producers to receive relief from the market-distorting effects of potential government subsidies while we continue our investigation.”

From January 20, 2017, through January 17, 2018, Commerce has initiated 84 antidumping and countervailing duty investigations – a 62 percent increase from 52 in the previous year.

In 2016, imports of stainless steel flanges from China and India were valued at an estimated $16.3 million and $32.1 million, respectively.

The petitioners are the Coalition of American Flange Producers and its individual members: Core Pipe Products, Inc. (Carol Stream, IL) and Maass Flange Corporation (Houston, TX).

CVD law provides US businesses and workers with an internationally accepted mechanism to seek relief from the harmful effects of unfair subsidization of imports into the United States. Commerce currently maintains 418 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 determinations on April 3, 2018, and May 29, 2018, for China and India, respectively. If the Commerce Department makes affirmative final determinations of subsidization and the US International Trade Commission (ITC) makes affirmative final injury determinations, Commerce will issue CVD orders. If the Commerce Department makes negative final determinations of subsidization or the ITC makes negative final determinations of injury, the investigations will be terminated and no order will be issued.