The US Department of Commerce has announced the affirmative preliminary determination in the countervailing duty (CVD) investigation of imports of certain plastic decorative ribbon from China, finding that exporters in China received countervailable subsidies ranging from 12.81 percent to 94.67 percent.

Commerce will instruct US Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits from importers of certain plastic decorative ribbon from China based on these preliminary rates.

In 2017, imports of certain plastic decorative ribbon from China were valued at an estimated $22.5 million.

The petitioner is Berwick Offray, LLC of Berwick, Pennsylvania.

Commerce has initiated 114 new antidumping and countervailing duty investigations since the beginning of the Trump administration. This is 78 percent more than the 64 initiations in the last 495 days of the previous administration.

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. Imports from companies that receive unfair subsidies from their governments in the form of grants, loans, equity infusions, tax breaks, and production inputs are subject to countervailing duties aimed at directly countering those subsidies. Commerce currently maintains 440 antidumping and countervailing duty orders.

Commerce is currently scheduled to announce its final CVD determination on or about October 16, 2018.

The US International Trade Commission (ITC) is currently scheduled to make its final injury determination on November 29, 2018. If Commerce makes an affirmative final determination in this investigation and the ITC makes an affirmative final injury determination, Commerce will issue a CVD order. If Commerce makes a negative final determination or the ITC makes a negative final determination of injury, the investigation will be terminated and no order will be issued.