The U.S. Department of Commerce has ruled that imports of polyester textured yarn from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam are being unfairly sold below their fair value in the United States at margins ranging from 2.67 percent to 56.08 percent.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection will now begin collecting antidumping duties (AD) in the amount equal to the dumping cash deposits rates for imports from each country. Importers will be required to post duty deposits at these AD rates on the date the preliminary determinations are published in the Federal Register.
These deposits will be collected until the Commerce Department and U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) conclude their investigations later this year. At that time, the duties could change, Commerce said.
Imports of polyester textured yarn from China and India are currently subject to significant double- and triple-digit AD and countervailing duties as a result of prior investigations that concluded in January 2020.
Two major U.S. synthetic yarn producers–Unifi Manufacturing Inc. and Nan Ya Plastics Corporation America–filed petitions with the Commerce Department and the USITC in October alleging that dumped imports of polyester textured yarn from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam were causing material injury to the domestic industry.
The Commerce Department initiated the investigations in November and the USITC preliminarily determined in December that imports from the four countries were causing injury to the U.S. domestic industry.
The product covered by the investigation, polyester textured yarn, is synthetic multifilament yarn that is manufactured from polyester (polyethylene terephthalate). Polyester textured yarn is produced through a texturing process that imparts special properties to the filaments of the yarn, including stretch, bulk, strength, moisture absorption, insulation and the appearance of a natural fiber.
This scope of the ruling includes all forms of polyester textured yarn, regardless of surface texture or appearance, yarn density and thickness; number of filaments; number of plies; finish; cross section; color; dye method; texturing method or packing method.
The merchandise subject to this investigation is properly classified under subheadings 5402.33.3000 and 5402.33.6000 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the merchandise is absolute and conclusive, Commerce noted.
The petitioning companies are represented by Kelley Drye & Warren LLP.