The US Department of Commerce announced the affirmative preliminary determination in the countervailing duty (CVD) investigation of imports of cast iron soil pipe from China, finding that exporters in China received countervailable subsidies ranging from 13.11 to 111.20 percent.

Commerce will instruct US Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits from importers of cast iron soil pipe from China based on these preliminary rates.

In 2017, imports of cast iron soil pipe from China were valued at $11.5 million. The petitioner is Cast Iron Soil Pipe Institute of Mundelein, Illinois.

Countervailing duty laws provide American businesses and workers with an internationally accepted mechanism to seek relief from the harmful effects of the 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 448 antidumping and countervailing duty orders which provide relief to American companies and industries impacted by unfair trade. Since the beginning of the current Administration, Commerce has initiated 118 new AD and CVD investigations, 59 percent more than the 74 initiations in the last 521 days of the previous administration.

Commerce is currently scheduled to announce its final CVD determination on November 8, 2018. If the Department of Commerce makes a final affirmative determination, then the US International Trade Commission (ITC) will be scheduled to make its final injury determination on December 24, 2018.  If the Commerce Department makes an affirmative final determination in this investigation and the ITC makes an affirmative final injury determination, Commerce will issue a CVD order.  If the Commerce Department 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.