Tilezine has reported previously on the issue of tariffs levied against the import of Chinese-manufactured ceramic wall and floor tiles into Europe.
This year the US is witnessing a controversy about alleged dumping of Chinese ceramic tiles on to the American market. The Coalition for Fair Trade in Ceramic Tile, consisting predominantly of US ceramic tile producers, filed Anti-Dumping and CountervailingDuty Petitions with the Federal Government in April. The coalition alleges dumping margins from 178% to 429% are occurring. They say: “A surge of imports of ceramic tile from the PRC has entered the United States at aggressively low and unfair prices” and has benefited from PRC government subsidies.
For punitive duties to be imposed in retaliation, the US government must determine not only that dumpingand/or subsidies are occurring, but also that there is material injury.
Following the petition, the International Trade Commission has launched a preliminary phase of anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigation and on 3 June the Commission determined that there is a reasonable indication of injury to the US ceramic tile industry and therefore announced the commencement of a further phase of investigation.
However the matter is not without controversy. The Ceramic Tile Alliance is representing importers, distributors and retailers, many of whom benefit from the availability of cheaper tiles on the US market. They are opposed to the imposition of tariffs on Chinese imports, claiming that these would jeopardise the viability of the tiling sector against other competing types of floor and wallcovering. They claim that businesses and “thousands of American jobs” would be at risk if the petition is allowed to progress.
The US International trade Commission will be carrying out its deliberations in the coming months with final determinations expected in March 2020.
