Hanoi (VNA)  - The US Department of Commerce (DOC) has announced its affirmative preliminary determinations on the antidumping duty (AD) investigations of the import of tool chests and cabinets from Vietnam and China.

The Vietnam Competition Authority under the Ministry of Industry and Trade late last week announced that the DOC calculated a preliminary dumping rate of 230.31 percent for Vietnam’s producers and exporters. 

The rate for China is from 90.40 percent to 168.93 percent.

Merchandise subject to these investigations is classified under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) categories 9403.20.0021, 9403.20.0026, 9403.20.0030 and 7326.90.8688, but may also be classified under HTSUS category 7326.90.3500.

As a result of the affirmative preliminary determinations, the DOC will instruct the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to require cash deposits based on these preliminary rates.

The petitioner of the case is Waterloo Industries, Inc (Waterloo), which manufactures tool chests at its production facility in Sedalia, Missouri.

The DOC is currently scheduled to announce its final determinations on March 22, 2018.

If the department makes affirmative final determinations and the US International Trade Commission (ITC) announces affirmative final determinations that imports of tool chests and cabinets from China and Vietnam materially injure, or threaten material injury to, the domestic industry in the United States, the DOC will issue AD orders. If either the DOC or the ITC final determinations are negative, no AD orders will be issued.

The ITC is scheduled to make its final injury determinations some 45 days after the DOC issues its final determinations, if affirmative.

In 2016, imports of tool chests and cabinets from China and Vietnam were valued at an estimated 230 million USD and 77 million USD, respectively, according to the DOC.-VNA
VNA