The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) has determined that domestic yarn producers were “materially injured” by reason of imports of polyester textured yarn from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam that the U.S. Department of Commerce found were sold in the states at less than fair value.
As a result of the USITC’s affirmative determinations, Commerce will issue antidumping duty orders on imports of this product from the above names countries of origin. The initial petition seeking grievance was brought in October 2020 by Nan Ya Plastics Corp. America of Lake City, S.C., and Unifi Manufacturing Inc. of Greensboro, N.C.
Polyester textured yarn is a multifilament fiber 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.
In May, Commerce ruled the imports were being unfairly sold below their fair value in the United States at margins ranging from 2.67 percent to 56 percent. At the time, U.S. Customs and Border Protection began collecting antidumping duties (AD) and importers were required to post duty deposits at these AD rates.
According to the USITC, the subjected imports were valued at $50 million in 2020, while U.S. producers shipped $213 million worth of polyester textured yarn, including the two petitioners and four other companies. In addition to the four Asian countries, the other leading import source of the product is Mexico.
The 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 and texturing method or packing method.
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.