Producers of Steel Propane Tanks Applaud International Trade Commission Injury Decision; Will Appeal Commerce Department Final Antidumping Duty Determination for Thailand

WASHINGTON, July 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. producers of steel propane cylinders hailed today's final determination of the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) that imports of steel propane cylinders from China and Thailand are causing injury to the domestic industry. The Commission vote was unanimous, with four members of the ITC voting in the affirmative and one member recused. 

This was the final step in the antidumping and countervailing duty investigations filed by Worthington Industries, Inc. and Manchester Tank and Equipment on May 22, 2018.  The ITC's decision follows the June 17, 2019 determination by the U.S. Department of Commerce ("Commerce") that imports of steel propane cylinders from China and Thailand were dumped and that imports from China were also subsidized.

Imports from China and Thailand surged into the U.S. market in recent years, displacing U.S. producers' sales and market share.  The domestic industry stated that this import surge was driven by low import pricing that caused U.S. producers to suffer from reduced prices and profits. 

Paul Rosenthal, counsel to the U.S. producers, applauded the ITC's decision, saying, "This determination will lay the foundation for restoring fair pricing to the marketplace."

As a result of the ITC's vote, the Commerce Department will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to require U.S. importers of steel propane cylinders from China and Thailand to deposit estimated antidumping duties at the time of importation as follows:

If the foreign producers continue to dump, these duties could increase in subsequent years.  In the meantime, the two domestic producers announced their intention to appeal the Commerce Department's antidumping duty determination for Thailand with the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York, NY.  The U.S. producers contend that the Commerce Department made errors that resulted in a significantly understated margin of dumping by Thai producer Sahamitr Pressure Container Public Company Limited. 

Mr. Rosenthal added, "The Commerce Department made several errors in its analysis of the final dumping margin for Sahamitr.  We intend to appeal Commerce's final determination. We are confident that a court order for Commerce to reevaluate its analysis will result in a significantly higher antidumping duty deposit rate on imports of steel propane cylinders from Thailand."

Domestic Producers:  The steel propane cylinders subject to the investigation are used in recreational vehicles, outdoor barbecue grills, fire pits and heat lamps.  The domestic producers that petitioned for antidumping and countervailing duty relief from imports of steel propane cylinders from China, and antidumping relief from Thailand, are Worthington Industries, Inc. of Columbus, Ohio and Manchester Tank and Equipment of Franklin, Tennessee. The companies are represented by Kelley Drye & Warren LLP, Washington, D.C.

SOURCE Kelley Drye