The U.S. International Trade Commission on Feb. 8 voted 5-0 that domestic producers of ammonium sulfate were materially injured or threatened with material injury by reason of imports from China. This affirmative determination paves the way for the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) to issue antidumping and countervailing duty orders on ammonium sulfate imports from China at rates previously set by the DOC. The orders are expected to go into effect by March 13, 2017, and will remain in force for at least five years.
In January, the DOC issued final determinations that Chinese producers sold ammonium sulfate at prices less than fair value in the U.S. market and that those producers benefitted from countervailable subsidies. DOC set a dumping margin of 493.46 percent and a countervailable subsidy rate of 206.72 percent for all Chinese producers.
“We are very pleased with the ITC’s unanimous determination, which confirms that domestic producers and employees have been severely injured by the surge in dumped and subsidized imports from China” said Jim Costello, CEO of PCI Nitrogen. “Today’s decision will help ensure that U.S. manufacturers and workers can compete with imports on an equal footing. We thank the ITC and the Department of Commerce for all their hard work in these investigations.”