The Coalition for Fair Trade of Hardwood Plywood (CFTHP) has filed an unfair trade position against China, alleging that Chinese manufacturers have gained an unfair competitive advantage in the hardood and plywood market.
Filed with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission, the petition indicates that imports of hardwood and plywood from China are sold in the U.S. at dumped prices. Additionally, the petition says that U.S. manufacturers have suffered material competitive injury from these practices.
“China has dumped products into the U.S. market at prices that are well below fair value,” said Jeff Levin, CFTHP counsel. “Furthermore, Chinese manufacturers receive an array of government subsidies, including their access to raw materials— logs and timber—that come from suspect or illicit sources. All of these factors equate to an enormous unfair advantage for Chinese manufacturers, and injure the entire domestic hardwood plywood industry. Even more ominously, these unfair trade practices present a fundamental, if not insurmountable, obstacle to the domestic industry’s ability to recover its competitive footing, even when underlying economic conditions in this country turn more favorable.”
A preliminary ruling and escrow deposit requirement is expected to be implemented by spring of 2013, with a final ruling by fall of 2013.
For more information about the petition, visit www.hardwoodplywoodfairtrade.org.
