AEC supports Trump administration’s steps to improve collection of antidumping and countervailing duties

The Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC) is deeply appreciative of the steps the new administration is taking to put an end to abusive trade practices by importers and foreign companies that are causing massive U.S. trade deficits.  By increasing the bonding requirements as indicated in the President’s executive order released this afternoon, the new administration is showing how seriously it takes trade enforcement.  Ensuring that the full amount of antidumping and countervailing duties are collected is critical to providing the affected domestic industry the full amount of relief from these unfair trade practices the domestic industry is entitled to under the law. 

Despite the relief that the current antidumping and countervailing duty orders on aluminum extrusions from China have provided to the domestic aluminum extrusions industry, American extruders continue to deal with deceitful practices by importers and foreign companies to evade duties. 

For years, the U.S. aluminum extrusions industry has suffered particularly from the fraudulent activities of China Zhongwang Holdings Limited and its extensive network of global affiliates, including its U.S. importer Perfectus Aluminum, Inc.  Zhongwang has been using its affiliates worldwide to systematically and illegally game the U.S. trade system by entering fake aluminum pallets into the United States without paying any antidumping or countervailing duties.

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In December of 2016, the Department of Commerce found that Zhongwang’s fake pallets that entered the U.S. are merely aluminum extrusions subject to the existing antidumping and countervailing duty orders.  The Department found that these pallets were not legitimate and were instead extrusions that were cut and welded to look like pallets to avoid duties.  Earlier this month, the AEC filed a request with the Department to expand the Department’s finding to cover the same alleged pallets that are made of a different aluminum alloy that is also subject to the existing orders.

Additional bonding or security requirements for Customs and Border Protection will make it more difficult for those who may be complicit in the massive amount of fraudulent duty evasion taking place in the aluminum extrusions industry.  These are critical steps in ensuring that lawful duties are in fact collected on subject merchandise and ultimately in improving the effectiveness of U.S. trade remedies.

“We are deeply grateful that the new administration, and its newly confirmed Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross, are taking concrete steps to fully enforce existing trade remedies and provide domestic producers the relief they deserve” said AEC President Jeff Henderson.  “The collection of lawful duties is critical in ensuring that domestic industries actually obtain the full relief from unfairly traded foreign imports after hard fought cases and ultimately in ensuring the effectiveness of U.S. trade remedies.”