On the basis of an investigation request filed on October 12, 2022 by the US domestic industry, the US Department of Commerce (DOC) has just initiated an anti-dumping investigation with clipboard products imported from Vietnam. Vietnam, China and India (India alone is required for further anti-subsidy investigation).
The plaintiff in this case is the Coalition of Domestic Folder Manufacturers (Coalition of Domestic Folder Manufacturers, consisting of 2 companies Smead Manufacturing Company, and TOPS Products LLC).
The goods under investigation are file folders with HS codes 4820.30.0040, 4820.30.0020, The investigation period for Vietnam is from April 1 to September 30, 2022. The margin of dumping alleged against Vietnamese exporters ranges from 182.67 to 236.38%.
Preliminary data from the US International Trade Commission (USITC) shows that, in the period 2019-2021, the export value of investigated products from Vietnam to the US increased more than 5 times, from 6 million USD in 2019. to nearly 31 million USD in 2021.
The DOC has issued Q&V questionnaires to the nine businesses named in the application for investigation to collect information for the mandatory selection of defendants in the case.
The deadline for businesses to respond to the DOC's Q&V questionnaire is before 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on November 15, 2022. In case of necessity, the enterprise can send a letter of application for an extension and explain the reason directly to the DOC.
It is expected that the DOC will select the required defendant within 20 days from the date of publication of the notice of initiation of the investigation. The US International Trade Commission (ITC) will issue a preliminary conclusion on the matter of injury to the domestic industry within 45 days of receiving the request for investigation.
In order to ensure the legitimate interests of enterprises, the Trade Remedies Administration (Ministry of Industry and Trade) recommends that enterprises producing/exporting related products should proactively determine a suitable appeal strategy suitable for enterprises, diversify markets and export products;
Businesses need to fully cooperate with the DOC throughout the course of the incident. Any act of non-cooperation or inadequate cooperation may lead to the US Investigative Service to use the available evidence against its own advantage or to impose the highest anti-dumping duty rate on the business;
Purposely register for an IA ACCESS account at the DOC's web portal (https://access.trade.gov/login.aspx) to update information and submit relevant documents and documents to the regulatory agency check US
Businesses should carefully read the DOC guidelines for answering and submitting Q&V responses in the correct format and deadlines (or request an extension if necessary and subject to DOC approval).
Businesses that have responded to this Q&V but have not been selected as a mandatory respondent can apply for a separate rate. In previous cases investigated by the DOC, if the enterprise did not respond to the Q&V questionnaire, it would not be considered by the DOC for a separate tax rate.
