U.S. Department of Commerce Finds Dumping of Imports of Acetone from Belgium, Korea, and South Africa
For Immediate Release
February 7, 2020
Contact: Office of Public Affairs
Phone: 202-482-3809
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced the affirmative final determinations in the antidumping duty (AD) investigations of imports of acetone from Belgium, Korea, and South Africa.
Commerce determined that exporters from Korea and South Africa sold acetone at dumping margins ranging from 25.05 percent to 47.86 percent, and 314.51 percent to 414.92 percent, respectively. Commerce determined that exporters from Belgium sold acetone at a dumping margin of 28.10 percent.
Upon publication of the final affirmative AD determinations, Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits equal to the applicable final dumping rates, as appropriate.
In 2018, imports of acetone from Belgium, Korea, and South Africa were valued at an estimated $51.1 million, $61.2 million, and $21.8 million, respectively.
The petitioner is the Coalition for Acetone Fair Trade. Coalition members are AdvanSix, Inc. (Parsippany, N.J.), Altivia Petrochemicals, LLC (Haverhill, Ohio), and Olin Corporation (Clayton, Mo.).
The strict enforcement of U.S. trade law is a primary focus of the Trump administration. Since the beginning of the current administration, Commerce has initiated 200 new AD and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations – this is a 170 percent increase from the comparable period in the previous administration.
Antidumping duty laws provide American businesses and workers with an internationally accepted mechanism to seek relief from the harmful effects of the unfair pricing of imports into the United States. Commerce currently maintains 516 AD and CVD orders which provide relief to American companies and industries impacted by unfair trade.
The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) is conducting investigations to determine whether the domestic industry is materially injured, or threatened with material injury, by imports of acetone from Belgium, Korea, and/or South Africa. The ITC is currently scheduled to make its final injury determinations on or before March 23.
If the ITC makes affirmative final injury determinations, Commerce will issue AD orders. If the ITC makes negative final determinations of injury, the investigations will be terminated and no orders will be issued.
Read the fact sheet for today’s decisions.
Commerce’s Enforcement and Compliance unit within the International Trade Administration is responsible for vigorously enforcing U.S. trade laws and does so through an impartial, transparent process that abides by international rules and is based on factual evidence provided on the record.
Foreign companies that price their products in the U.S. market below the cost of production or below prices in their home markets are subject to AD duties.
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