The U.S. Department of Commerce will impose countervailing duties ranging from 24.38 to 178.45% on quartz surface products after finding imports of the products from China are unfairly subsidized, according to a press release. The announcement comes less than five months after American quartz surface manufacturer Cambria filed antidumping and countervailing duty petitions on quartz surface products from China.
In its initial petition, Cambria alleged that the Chinese benefit from subsidy programs provided by their government, which help keep their prices lower and undercut the U.S. market. According to Cambria, China displaced over $1.2 billion per annum in the U.S. domestic quartz market in 2017 and the total volume of U.S. imports of quartz surface products from China in the first two quarters of 2018 increased by over 51% from the year-earlier period. The Department of Commerce reported that imports of certain quartz surface products from China were valued at around $460 million.
“We commend the diligent work of the Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission and look forward to final determinations in this important investigation. This is a critical first step toward restoring a level playing field within our industry, fulfilling the obvious axiom: there is no such thing as free trade without fair trade," Cambria President and CEO Marty Davis said in a press release from the company. “Cambria and its employees, along with many members of our industry, welcome this decision. We all remain committed to ensuring that trade is conducted on a level playing field.”
The Department of Commerce is scheduled to issue preliminary antidumping determinations in November. If the Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission both make final affirmative determinations in their investigations into Cambria's allegations, final duties could be imposed in May or June 2019.
