The vote means that U.S. importers of these products from China will be required to pay high duties to offset unfair pricing and Chinese government subsidies and to restore fair competition in the U.S. market.
Said Joe Dorn, a partner at King & Spalding, the law firm representing the petitioners, “Today’s ITC vote represents an important victory for U.S. producers of laminated woven sacks and their workers. It also has broader significance, because it is the first time the U.S. government has decided to impose duties against a textile product to offset subsidies granted by the Chinese government. The decision sends a strong message to China that government subsidies that lead to imports at unfair prices will not be tolerated by the U.S. government.”
Added Mike Nowak president of Wrightstown, WI-based Coating Excellence Intl. (CEI, www.coating-excellence.com), a member of the Laminated Woven Sacks Committee, “The ITC’s decision confirms something that we have known for a long time—dumped and subsidized imports from China prevented us from getting this business off the ground. We now look forward to working closely with our customers to serve this growing market. This decision will allow us to expand capacity and create new jobs in Wisconsin.”
To learn more about laminated woven PP sacks and CEI, see related article on p. 53.
