Split Decision in India Quartz-Tariff Review
By Emerson Schwartzkopf
WASHINGTON – A massive increase in tariffs for quartz surfaces made in India won’t be happening in 2023 … at least for most producers.
Anti-dumping tariffs on materials from most Indian companies will remain at 3.19% and not increase to 161%, as proposed last summer by the U.S. International Trade Administration (ITA), a part of the Commerce Dept.
However, for one group of companies, those same duties will increase to 323.12%.
And, for one producer, the anti-dumping tariffs will be zero.
The tariff decisions came as part of a lengthy memo issued by the ITA on Dec. 30 (made public on Jan. 3) concerning a review of unfair-trade tariffs set in 2020 on India-made quartz surfaces.
The review, conducted early last year, is standard procedure; it checks data submitted by selected exporters. It ensures compliance with the tariffs set by the U.S. International Trade Commission in response to a 2019 petition filed by U.S. manufacturer Cambria Company LLC.
The review hit a snag when one group of Indian surface companies (Antique Marbonite Private Ltd., Shivam Enterprises and Prism Johnson Ltd.) missed a final deadline for submitting financial information to the ITA by a matter of hours. In July 2022, the ITA refused to accept the late documents and changed the company’s anti-dumping tariff from 3.19% to 323.12%, matching the market-price difference claimed by Cambria in its 2019 petition.
As part of the review, 51 other Indian quartz companies didn’t report data to the ITA, relying on the Antique Group and Pokarna Engineered Stone Ltd. (PESL) to submit information for examination. Because of the data refusal, ITA set the anti-dumping tariff for the “non-selected” companies at one-half the rate of the Antique Group, or 161.53%.
The ITA also set PESL’s anti-dumping rate at zero. PESL submitted its data on time; the ITA review found the company not exceeding margins that would indicate product shipments at less than market value.
Originally, the ITA set a time limit of 120 days to accept comments about the decision. Two extensions stretched the deadline to Jan. 4.
The Dec. 30 memo detailed a number of issues with the tariff review, explaining the process in detail. The ITA affirmed its decision to impose the high tariff on Antique Group products because “it failed to cooperate with the best of its ability.”
However, the ITA also determined the 161.53% rate, after further review, “is not reasonably reflective of the non-selected companies’ potential dumping margins.” The agency decided to re-apply the original 3.19% anti-dumping tariff rate.,
“The new rate that was calculated for the Antique Group is a positive step in the right direction for free and fair trade in the quartz industry,” said Kari Barber, Cambria associate general counsel. “We are pleased that the Department of Commerce is focused on enforcing US trade laws against foreign producers that intentionally violate our laws and addressing illegal subsidizing and dumping by the Government in India.”
U.S. International Trade Administration memo on review of India quartz-surface anti-dumping tariff: https://joom.ag/5d9d
U.S. International Trade Administration draft notice for publication in the Federal Register: https://joom.ag/4d9d
