ITC Makes Affirmative Preliminary Determination in Trade Cases on Hardwood and Decorative Plywood from China, Indonesia, and Vietnam, Wiley Rein LLP Reports

WASHINGTON, July 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- In a victory for U.S. producers of hardwood and decorative plywood (HWDP), the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) on July 3, 2025, found that there is a reasonable indication that imports from China, Indonesia, and Vietnam are materially injuring the U.S. HWDP industry.

The Commission's vote comes in response to petitions filed by Wiley on May 22, 2025, on behalf of the Coalition for Fair Trade in Hardwood Plywood, which consists of five leading U.S. HWDP producers – Columbia Forest Products, Commonwealth Plywood, Manthei Wood Products, States Industries, and Timber Products. The cases allege that unfairly dumped and subsidized imports of Chinese, Indonesian, and Vietnamese HWDP are injuring the domestic industry and threaten the industry with further injury.

"Domestic hardwood and decorative plywood producers and the thousands of American manufacturing jobs they support are being harmed as a result of dumped and subsidized imports from subject countries," said Timothy C. Brightbill, co-chair of Wiley's International Trade Practice and lead counsel to the Coalition. "The affirmative vote by the Commission takes the domestic industry one step closer to restoring fair competition on these products."

On June 11, 2025, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced the initiation of antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations into imports of HWDP from China, Indonesia, and Vietnam. The petitions allege significant dumping margins as high as 540.07% for China, 84.94% for Indonesia, and 152.41% for Vietnam. Commerce is also examining at least 33 subsidy programs in China, 12 in Indonesia, and 26 in Vietnam.

The ITC's affirmative preliminary injury determination paves the way for Commerce to move forward with its investigations. Unless extended, Commerce is expected to issue its preliminary CVD determination in August 2025 and its preliminary AD determination in October 2025. If Commerce also reaches affirmative preliminary determinations in these cases, provisional AD and CVD duties will be collected from importers based on the preliminary margins calculated.

If both Commerce and the ITC ultimately reach affirmative final determinations, AD and CVD orders on HWDP from China, Indonesia, and Vietnam will be issued, imposing duties on the unfairly traded imports for a minimum of five years. Duty evasion, absorption, and circumvention are strictly illegal. Should importers of HWDP from China, Indonesia, and Vietnam surge into the U.S. market with imports prior to the preliminary determination, Commerce and the Commission may determine to impose retroactive duties on subject imports that entered the United States 90 days before the preliminary determination.

The Wiley team representing the Coalition also includes International Trade partner Stephanie M. Bell, associate Stephen A. Morrison, and International Trade analysts Richard F. DiDonna and Amy M. Sherman.

For more information, please contact Timothy Brightbill at [email protected].

SOURCE Wiley Rein LLP