The U.S. to Levy Anti-dumping Duties On Chinese Wood Floors, Steel Cylinders

The U.S. Commerce Department made determinations on the levels of duties it will set on two imports from China: wood flooring and high-pressure steel cylinders.

Commerce set final rates on imports of multilayered flooring, imposing antidumping duties of up to 58.84% and countervailing duties of up to 26.73%. Antidumping duties target goods that are being sold below fair value, while countervailing duties retaliate for unfair government subsidies.

Multilayered wood-flooring imports from China fell to $120 million in 2009 from $148 million the previous year.

The new levies come after a group of eight U.S. flooring makers sought relief from Chinese floor imports last October, claiming the imports were being unfairly subsidized and dumped, or sold below fair value.

The group, which calls itself Coalition for American Hardwood Parity is led by Shaw Industries, a unit of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRKA, BRKB). The contingent also includes Anderson Hardwood Floors, Award Hardwood Floors, Baker's Creek, From the Forest, Howell Hardwood Flooring, Mannington Mills and Nydree Flooring.

Commerce also made its first determination of countervailing duty rates for imports of high-pressure steel cylinders, setting the rate at 22.34%.

Imports of such cylinders from China grew to $49 million last year from $29 million in 2009.

The department will now instruct the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect a cash deposit or bond based on this preliminary rate as it continues its investigation.

But before either duty can take effect, the International Trade Commission would have to find that U.S. producers are being harmed by the imports.

The petitioner for the cylinder case, Texas-based Norris Cylinder Co., claims that Chinese companies are selling the goods at less than normal value. It is seeking antidumping duties of up to 176%.

Steel cylinders are typically used for storage or transport of compressed or liquefied gas.