China Tile Tariffs: See Them in September?

WASHINGTON – The decision on possible unfair-trade tariffs on Chinese ceramic-tile imports will wait until September.

The U.S. International Trade Administration (USITA) agreed last month to delay an initial ruling on countervailing (subsidized product) tariffs at the request of a U.S. tile-manufacturers group.

A notice in the June 24, 2019, Federal Register announced that the USITA, an agency under the federal Commerce Department, changed the decision date from July 5 to Sept. 6.

The Coalition for Fair Trade in Ceramic Tile (CFTCT), a group of eight U.S. tile producers, requested the delay on June 7 to allow more time for investigating subsidy claims. The CFTCT filed the petition earlier this year that sought relief from what it claimed as Chinese unfair trade practices.

In its June 7 letter, the CFTCT noted that the Commerce Department had yet to select mandatory respondents for inquiries on subsidy issue, and “because the case may present certain complicated issues.

“Postponement of the Department’s preliminary determination will allow the Department to properly conduct its investigation and calculate the appropriate magnitude of subsidies benefiting companies in China’s ceramic tile industry,” according to the letter.

The delay in the countervailing case means that both it and the preliminary determination on possible antidumping tariffs will in September. The antidumping-duty decision will be made by Sept. 18.

The unfair-trade petition covers all ceramic-tile products from China, including large-format slabs.

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