US levies antidumping duties on Chinese steel trailer wheels

The U.S. Department of Commerce has issued preliminary antidumping-duty margins of 38.27 to 44.35 percent against imports of 12- to 16.5-inch steel trailer wheels from China.

The antidumping duties follow the preliminary countervailing duties of 58.3 to 293.27 percent Commerce levied on the same product in February 2019.

Elkhart, Ind.-based Dexstar Wheel Co., a division of American Development Inc./Kenda Rubber Industrial Co. Ltd., petitioned the International Trade Commission for antidumping and countervailing duty relief in August 2018 under Sections 701 and 731 of the Trade Act.In the antidumping determination issued April 16, Commerce found a dumping margin of 38.27 percent against Changzhou Chungang Machinery Co. Ltd., and 44.35 percent as the "China-wide entity" rate based on the adverse facts available to the agency.

Commerce also agreed with Dexstar that critical circumstances exist in the case of the Chinese imports. This means that Commerce will instruct Customs and Border Protection to collect duties retroactively, effective 90 days before the publication of the antidumping duty notice in the Federal Register.

The cash deposit rates for the wheel imports are 37.65 percent for Changzhou Chungang and 43.73 percent for the China-wide entity, Commerce said.

The scope of the investigation includes on-the-road steel wheels for road and highway trailers and other towable equipment, including utility trailers, cargo trailers, horse trailers, boat trailers, recreational trailers and towable mobile homes, Commerce said.It also includes rims and discs for these steel wheels, whether imported as an assembly, unassembled or separately, the agency said.

Commerce said it will announce its final determination on the Chinese wheel imports on or about July 2. The ITC's final determination on material injury is scheduled on or about Aug. 15.

This investigation is different from that involving Chinese steel wheels for commercial vehicles (rim diameters of 22.5 to 24.5 inches), which began in April 2018 after Accuride Corp. and Maxion Wheels Akron L.L.C. petitioned the ITC.

In this case, Commerce proposed antidumping duties of up to 231.7 percent and countervailing duties of 48.75 to 172.51 percent. The ITC held a public hearing on this investigation at its headquarters March 14.