US Department of Commerce initiates nationwide anti-circumvention enquiry on aluminium foil imports from China

A nationwide anti-circumvention investigation concerning imports of aluminium foil from China that is produced or finished in Thailand and South Korea was self-initiated on Wednesday, July 13, by the U.S. Department of Commerce. According to unfair trade orders released by the Commerce Department in April 2018, these imports are improperly evading the payment of antidumping and countervailing taxes on imports of aluminium foil from China.

The Commerce Department will shortly send out questionnaires to the alleged duty evaders, offer chances for interested parties to contribute data pertinent to the agency's operations, and make a preliminary conclusion, which is most likely to take place in the upcoming months. The probe is anticipated to be finished in about a year.

Following a move by the Aluminum Association's Trade Enforcement Working Group, the Commerce Department released antidumping and countervailing (AD/CVD) orders on certain aluminium foil imports from China in April 2018. Final dumping and subsidy rates varied from 55 to 176 per cent. Imports of certain aluminium foil from China into the United States have significantly decreased after those directives were made public.

“We commend the Commerce Department for taking this important step to enforce our trade laws. This decision demonstrates strong initiative and a commitment to maintaining these hard-won gains for U.S. manufacturing. We look forward to working closely with the department to ensure a successful outcome as these inquiries progress,” said Charles Johnson, president and CEO of the Aluminum Association.

The Commerce Department's investigation focuses on flat-rolled aluminium goods with a thickness of 0.2 mm or less (less than 0.0079 inches), packaged in reels weighing more than 25 pounds, unbacked, made in China, and finished in Thailand and South Korea. When qualities like light weight, corrosion resistance, and formability are desired, certain aluminium foil is widely used in food and pharmaceutical packaging, household foil, thermal insulation, cables, electronics, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning ("HVAC") applications, and other heat transfer products.

However, as Chinese producers have sought to "work around" the AD/CVD duties imposed on foil exported directly from China to the United States, Chinese exports of foil and sheet-gauge products to Thailand and South Korea have increased significantly, and U.S. imports of aluminium foil from those countries made from Chinese metal have also increased significantly.

John M. Herrmann, Paul C. Rosenthal, and Joshua R. Morey of the law firm Kelley Drye & Warren LLP are the witnesses for the Aluminum Association Trade Enforcement Working Group in these investigations.