WASHINGTON, May 20, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- The Coalition for Fair Trade in Shopping Bags (the
"Coalition") applauds the final determinations announced today by
the United States Department of Commerce ("Commerce") that imports
of paper shopping bags into the United
States from Cambodia,
China, Colombia, India, Malaysia, Portugal, Taiwan, and Vietnam are being sold at less than fair value
(commonly termed "dumping") and that imports from China and India also are being subsidized. This follows
an affirmative final finding of dumping announced in March with
respect to imports of paper shopping bags from Turkey.
Commerce's investigations concerning these nine countries cover
paper shopping bags with handles of any type, whether printed
or unprinted. Paper shopping bags, which often are used to
carry items purchased from a retail establishment or restaurant,
typically are made of kraft paper but can be made from any type of
paper material.
In its final determinations, Commerce concluded that imports of
paper shopping bags from each of the nine countries are being
unfairly traded. In particular, Commerce found combined dumping
margins and subsidy rates of up to 308.13 percent. This means
that U.S. importers of paper shopping bags from these
countries will have to pay cash deposits to U.S. Customs and Border
Protection ("Customs") based on the value of their future imports.
For example, where a particular supplier has a dumping/subsidy rate
of 60%, for every $100 of paper
shopping bags imported from that supplier, importers will now have
to begin paying $60 to U.S. Customs
as cash deposits for future dumping duty liability. An importer's
final liabilities – which could be higher or lower than the cash
deposits paid at the time of importation – will not be known for
some time, however, since the cash deposits are only estimates.
This means that the final duty assessments can be amended during
Commerce's annual administrative reviews.
A summary of the country- and company-specific rates is
available on Commerce's website.
The International Trade Commission ("ITC") already has
determined that the U.S. industry is materially injured by reason
of unfairly traded shopping bags imported from Turkey, and an antidumping duty order against
Turkey was published on
May 9. In mid-June, the ITC will vote
on whether imports from Cambodia,
China, Colombia, India, Malaysia, Portugal, Taiwan, and Vietnam have also caused injury. If the ITC
reaches the same finding as it already has with respect to
Turkey, Commerce will then issue
additional antidumping and countervailing duty orders on
July 8.
The Coalition is represented in these actions by the law firm
King & Spalding LLP. "The domestic manufacturing plants
and U.S. workers greatly appreciate the hard work undertaken by
Department of Commerce officials to evaluate the extent of unfair
pricing practices from these countries," said Mike Taylor, a partner in the law firm of King
& Spalding. "The dumping and subsidy findings validate the
petitions that were filed last summer and should help restore fair
competition to the U.S. market so that manufacturing plants
and jobs can remain in the United
States."
The Coalition intends actively to continue monitoring imports
for unfairly traded paper shopping bags from other countries, and
the Coalition also plans actively to coordinate with U.S.
Customs to ensure that importers fully comply with their
obligations. The importation of paper shopping bags from these nine
countries without the payment of antidumping and countervailing
cash deposits and duties may result in severe civil or criminal
penalties.
About King & Spalding
King & Spalding is an
international law firm that represents a broad array of clients,
including half of the Fortune Global 100, with 1,300 lawyers in 24
offices in the United States,
Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The firm has handled matters in over 160
countries on six continents and consistently earns recognition for
the results it obtains, uncompromising commitment to quality, and
dedication to understanding the business and culture of its
clients. More information is available at www.kslaw.com.
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SOURCE King & Spalding