WASHINGTON—The U.S. Commerce Department made determinations Wednesday, Oct. 12, on the levels of duties it will set on imported wood flooring from China.
Commerce set final rates on imports of multilayered flooring, imposing antidumping duties of up to 58.84% and countervailing duties of up to 26.73%. Antidumping duties target goods that are being sold below fair value, while countervailing duties retaliate for unfair government subsidies.
Multilayered wood-flooring imports from China fell to $120 million in 2009 from $148 million the previous year.
The new levies come after the Coalition for American Hardwood Parity, contingent of Shaw Industries, Anderson Hardwood Floors, Award Hardwood Floors, Baker’s Creek, From the Forest, Howell Hardwood Flooring, Mannington Mills and Nydree Flooring.
The department will now instruct the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect a cash deposit or bond based on this preliminary rate as it continues its investigation.
But before the duty can take effect, the International Trade Commission would have to find that U.S. producers are being harmed by the imports.
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