USA: The US Freight Railcar Coupler Coalition of manufacturers has filed petitions with the Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission seeking to counter what it says are market distortions caused by ‘significant volumes of unfairly priced imports’ of couplers from China and Mexico.
The coalition is seeking antidumping duties to offset the amount a product is sold at less than fair value, and countervailing duties to offset foreign government subsidies.
If an investigation is launched, it would last for around a year. However, duties can attach to imports from the time of preliminary determinations.
‘Unfair pricing is hurting American companies and workers, as well as the communities in which they operate’, said Daniel B Pickard of law firm Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney and lead counsel for the coalition.
‘The domestic industry is committed to combating these unfair trade practices and ensuring that American manufacturing is able to compete on a level playing field. Foreign countries and producers that do not abide by international trade rules must be held accountable. Trade remedy measures that we hope result from the petitions filed today aim to do just that.’
