The US Department of Commerce is preparing to tax aluminum sheet exporters from Taiwan and 17 other countries after on Tuesday determining that they had benefited from subsidies and dumping.
The US International Trade Commission (ITC), an independent body, must approve the decision by April 15 to impose anti-dumping or countervailing duties, a department statement said.
The investigation, launched under former US president Donald Trump’s administration, had been requested by nearly a dozen US aluminum alloy manufacturers, including Arconic Inc and Aleris Rolled Products Inc, which said that they were affected by competing imports at lower prices.
US President Joe Biden’s administration determined that imports from Germany in particular (US$287 million in 2019) benefited from dumping ranging from 40 to 242 percent.
The same is true for aluminum alloy sheets from Bahrain (US$241 million), which the Biden administration said benefited from pricing below the cost of production or the local market of 83 percent.
Imports from India (US$123 million) have benefited from subsidies of 35 to 89 percent, the investigation found.
In October last year, the Trump administration indicated that it had begun to levy preliminary duties in the investigation.
The other targeted countries are Taiwan, Brazil, Croatia, Egypt, Greece, Indonesia, Oman, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain and Turkey.
“If the ITC makes affirmative final injury determinations, Commerce will issue AD or CVD orders,” the department said, referring to anti-dumping or countervailing duties orders.
The department said that 559 orders on various imports are in effect to “provide relief to American companies and industries impacted by unfair trade.”
“Foreign companies that price their products in the US market below the cost of production or below prices in their home markets are subject to AD duties,” it said. “Foreign companies that receive unfair subsidies from their governments, such as grants, loans, equity infusions, tax breaks, or production inputs, are subject to CVD duties aimed at directly countering those subsidies.”
TAKING STOCK: A Taiwanese cookware firm in Vietnam urged customers to assess inventory or place orders early so shipments can reach the US while tariffs are paused Taiwanese businesses in Vietnam are exploring alternatives after the White House imposed a 46 percent import duty on Vietnamese goods, following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on the US’ trading partners. Lo Shih-liang (羅世良), chairman of Brico Industry Co (裕茂工業), a Taiwanese company that manufactures cast iron cookware and stove components in Vietnam, said that more than 40 percent of his business was tied to the US market, describing the constant US policy shifts as an emotional roller coaster. “I work during the day and stay up all night watching the news. I’ve been following US news until 3am
UNCERTAINTY: Innolux activated a stringent supply chain management mechanism, as it did during the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure optimal inventory levels for customers Flat-panel display makers AUO Corp (友達) and Innolux Corp (群創) yesterday said that about 12 to 20 percent of their display business is at risk of potential US tariffs and that they would relocate production or shipment destinations to mitigate the levies’ effects. US tariffs would have a direct impact of US$200 million on AUO’s revenue, company chairman Paul Peng (彭雙浪) told reporters on the sidelines of the Touch Taiwan trade show in Taipei yesterday. That would make up about 12 percent of the company’s overall revenue. To cope with the tariff uncertainty, AUO plans to allocate its production to manufacturing facilities in
Six years ago, LVMH’s billionaire CEO Bernard Arnault and US President Donald Trump cut the blue ribbon on a factory in rural Texas that would make designer handbags for Louis Vuitton, one of the world’s best-known luxury brands. However, since the high-profile opening, the factory has faced a host of problems limiting production, 11 former Louis Vuitton employees said. The site has consistently ranked among the worst-performing for Louis Vuitton globally, “significantly” underperforming other facilities, said three former Louis Vuitton workers and a senior industry source, who cited internal rankings shared with staff. The plant’s problems — which have not
TARIFF CONCERNS: The chipmaker cited global uncertainty from US tariffs and a weakening economic outlook, but said its Singapore expansion remains on track Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp (世界先進), a foundry service provider specializing in producing power management and display driver chips, yesterday withdrew its full-year revenue projection of moderate growth for this year, as escalating US tariff tensions raised uncertainty and concern about a potential economic recession. The Hsinchu-based chipmaker in February said revenues this year would grow mildly from last year based on improving supply chain inventory levels and market demand. At the time, it also anticipated gradual quarter revenue growth. However, the US’ sweeping tariff policy has upended the industry’s supply chains and weakened economic prospects for the world economy, it said. “Now