Domestic Coalition Again Requests New AD/CV Duties on Hardwood Plywood From China

This the second time the domestic plywood industry has requested AD/CV duties on Chinese hardwood plywood in the last four years. The ITC ended AD/CVD investigations on hardwood plywood from China in 2013, finding dumped and illegally subsidized hardwood plywood from China is not injuring U.S. industry (see 13110524).

Proposed Scope

The petition proposes the following scope for the investigations:

“The merchandise subject to this investigation is hardwood and decorative plywood. Hardwood and decorative plywood is a flat panel composed of an assembly of two or more layers or plies of wood veneers in combination with a core. The veneers, along with the core, are glued or otherwise bonded together to form a finished product. A hardwood and decorative plywood panel must have at least either the face or back veneer composed of one or more species of hardwood or bamboo. Hardwood and decorative plywood may include products that meet the American National Standard for Hardwood and Decorative Plywood, ANSI/HPVA HP-1-2016

“All hardwood and decorative plywood is included within the scope of this investigation, without regard to dimension (overall thickness, thickness of face veneer, thickness of back veneer, thickness of core, thickness of inner veneers, width, or length). However, the most common panel sizes of hardwood and decorative plywood are 1219 x 1829 mm ( 48 x 72 inches), 1219 x 2438 mm ( 48 x 96 inches), and 1219 x 3048 mm ( 48 x 120 inches).

“A 'veneer' is a thin slice of wood which is rotary cut, sliced or sawed from a log, bolt or flitch. The face veneer is the exposed veneer of a hardwood and decorative plywood product which is of a superior grade than that of the back veneer, which is the other exposed veneer of the product (i.e., as opposed to the inner veneers). When the two exposed veneers are of equal grade, either one can be considered the face or back veneer. For products that are entirely composed of veneer, such as Veneer Core Platforms, the exposed veneers are to be considered the face and back veneers, in accordance with the descriptions above.

“The core of hardwood and decorative plywood consists of the layer or layers of one or more material(s) that are situated between the face and back veneers. The core may be composed of a range of materials, including but not limited to veneers, particleboard, and medium-density fiberboard ('MDF').

“All hardwood and decorative plywood is included within the scope of this investigation regardless of whether or not the face and/or back veneers are surface coated. Examples of surface coatings include, but are not limited to, ultra-violet light cured polyurethanes, oil or oil-modified or water based polyurethanes, wax, epoxy-ester finishes, moisture-cured urethanes, and paints and stains that cause the grain, texture or markings of the wood to be obscured. Hardwood and decorative plywood may be coated through the utilization of paper, aluminum, high pressure laminate (‘HPL’), MDF, medium density overlay (‘MDO’), and phenolic film. Additionally, the face veneer of hardwood and decorative plywood may be sanded, smoothed or given a 'distressed' appearance through such methods as hand-scraping or wire brushing. All hardwood and decorative plywood is included within the scope even if it is trimmed, cut-to-size, notched, punched, drilled, or has underwent other forms of minor processing.

“Subject merchandise also includes hardwood and decorative plywood that has been further processed in a third country, including but not limited to trimming, cutting, notching, punching, drilling, or any other processing that would not otherwise remove the merchandise from the scope of the investigation if performed in the country of manufacture of the in-scope product.

“The scope of the investigation excludes the following items: (1) structural plywood (also known as 'industrial plywood' or 'industrial panels') that is manufactured and stamped 10 meet U.S. Products Standard PS 1-09, PS 2-09, or PS 2-10 for Structural Plywood (including any revisions to that standard or any substantially equivalent international standard intended for structural plywood), including but not limited to the 'bond performance' requirements set forth at paragraph 5.8.6.4 of that Standard and the performance criteria detailed at Table 4 through 10 of that Standard; (2) products which have a face and back veneer of cork; (3) multilayered wood flooring, as described in the antidumping duty and countervailing duty orders on Multilayered Wood Flooring from the People's Republic of China, Import Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce Investigation Nos. A-570-970 and C-570-971 (published December 8, 2011), and additionally, multilayered wood flooring with a face veneer of bamboo or composed entirely of bamboo; (4) plywood which has a shape or design other than a flat panel, with the exception of any minor processing described above; (5) products made entirely from bamboo and adhesives (also known as ‘solid bamboo’).”

Commerce Accepting Comments on Petition Support

The Commerce Department is accepting comments on domestic industry support for the petitions to determine whether the petitions meet the dual requirements of support by domestic producers or workers accounting for (1) at least 25% of the total production of the domestic-like product and (2) more than 50% of the production of the domestic-like product produced by that portion of the industry expressing support for, or opposition to, the petition. If the petitions meet these requirements, among others, Commerce will initiate antidumping and countervailing duty investigations. Comments are due by Dec. 7.

Email ITTNews@warren-news.com for a copy of the petition.