R134a Dumping Affirmed by ITA; Antidumping duty is likely.

ita-logoMay 22, 2014, Excerpts from FACT SHEET: Commerce Preliminarily Finds Dumping of Imports of (R134a) from the People’s Republic of China published by the International Trade Administration (ITA)-

 

The Department of Commerce announced its affirmative preliminary determination in the antidumping duty investigation of imports of HFC-R134a from China.  For the purposes of this determination, dumping is said to occur when a foreign company sells a product in the United States at less than its fair value. As a result of the preliminary affirmative determination, Department of Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to require cash deposits based on preliminary rates.

 

The Commerce Department is expected to announce its final determination on October 3, 2014.  Should an affirmative determination be made, The Commerce Department will issue an antidumping duty order and make “final injury determinations” in November 2014.Click Here for Fact Sheet distributed by the ITA

Congress Urges EPA to Accelerate Phase-down of R-22

Seal_of_the_United_States_Congress

WASHINGTON, DC (February 21, 2014)- Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52) and Senator Chris Murphy (Connecticut) led their colleagues in a letter to Gina McCarthy, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), calling on EPA to take more aggressive action to cut down on production of an industrial “super pollutant” that does 1,800 times more damage to the climate that carbon dioxide. The letter was signed by 17 Senators and 24 Members of the House of Representatives.

In December, EPA unveiled a new proposal to reduce production of HCFC-22, a refrigerant chemical that’s also a potent greenhouse gas. HCFCs — hydrochlorofluorocarbons — are currently being phased-down under the Montreal Protocol, a Reagan-era treaty to end the use of chemicals that harm the ozone layer. HCFCs are used in refrigerators, air-conditioning systems, and foam blowers.

The consensus among the letter’s signatories is that EPA’s initial proposal will still allow far too much new HCFC-22 to be produced, on top of a substantial existing stockpile of the environmentally harmful chemical.

The text and signatories of the letter can be seen here.

EPA Petitioned to Promote Recycling of HFC Refrigerants

Arlington, VA (February 3, 2014) – The Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy (Alliance) submitted a petition for rulemaking to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy on Friday, January 31, 2014. The request seeks to include hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) under the provisions of Title VI, Section 608 of the Clean Air Act intended to reduce refrigerant gas emissions. Including HFCs under Section 608 would reduce the emissions of these important compounds that provide safe and effective refrigeration and air conditioning services but are also greenhouse gases. Section 608 already includes requirements for chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs).

The Alliance estimates that the inclusion of HFCs under Section 608 could reduce HFC emissions by 15-20% in the United States. The primary goal of Section 608 is to minimize the loss of refrigerant to the atmosphere by improving the practices utilized during the servicing of air conditioning and refrigeration appliances. It sets certain leak and recovery standards and requires enhanced certification of equipment and technicians.

Click Here to Download entire press release

China’s R-134a Producers Accused of Dumping in the U.S.

USITC LogoOn October 22, 2013, an anti-dumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) petition was filed by Mexichem Fluor, Inc. on R-134a gas from China.  Mexichem alleges AD margins as high as 196% and that Chinese producers are benefitting from several subsidies.  Duty liability could begin as soon as January 16, 2014.
AD duties are imposed to offset unfairly priced imports that materially injure or threaten to injure the U.S. industry.  CVD duties are imposed to offset allegedly unfairly priced imports that are subsidized by national, state, or provincial governments that materially injure or threaten to injure the U.S. industry.
On October 24, 2013, the United States International Trade Commission sent a letter to all U.S. R134a stakeholders requesting that they complete a questionnaire on R-134a.  Questionnaires must be completed by November 5, 2013.  The Commission will use this information to “determine whether there is a reasonable indication that an industry in the United States is materially injured or is threatened with material injury, or the establishment of an industry in the United States is materially retarded, by reason of imports from China of R-134a that are allegedly subsidized and sold in the United States at less than fair value.”
For more information, please click here for article on National Law Review web page.