Steel wheels from china sold in US at “less than fair value”

Following an investigation covering the period from 1 July to 31 December 2017, the US Department of Commerce has issued a preliminary determination that steel wheels from the People’s Republic of China were (or were likely to have been) sold in the United States at less-than-fair-value. It now invites interested parties to comment on this preliminary determination.

The investigation looked at 22.5-inch and 24.5-inch steel rims, products typically fitted to vehicles such as truck tractor units, semi-trailers, dump trucks, garbage trucks, concrete mixers, and buses – class 6, 7, and 8 commercial vehicles as classified by the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating system used by the US Federal Highway Administration. The preliminary determination was made in accordance with section 733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended.

According to the preliminary determination into the ‘China-Wide Entity’ (all producers and exporters examined during the investigation), the Department of Commerce found that an estimated weighted-average dumping margin of 231.70 per cent exists. It will therefore instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation (a final tally of money owed to CBP based on current duty rates and the imported goods’ value) of these products, and to instead demand a cash deposit on wheel imports equalling the amount by which the value of the wheel exceeds US price.

A final determination is scheduled to be issued within 75 days after the issue of the preliminary determination on 23 October 2018, however the Department of Commerce is considering a request to postpone the final determination and extend provisional measures from four to six months.