U.S. PRODUCERS FILE UNFAIR TRADE CASES AGAINST IMPORTS OF POLYPROPYLENE CORRUGATED BOXES FROM CHINA AND VIETNAM

WASHINGTON, March 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Four major U.S. producers of polypropylene corrugated boxes – CoolSeal USA Inc., Inteplast Group Corporation, SeaCa Plastic Packaging, and Technology Container Corp. (collectively, "Petitioners") – today filed antidumping and countervailing duty petitions alleging that unfairly traded imports of polypropylene corrugated boxes from the People's Republic of China ("China') and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam ("Vietnam") are a cause of material injury – and also threaten further injury – to the domestic industry. The antidumping case alleges that Chinese and Vietnamese producers engaged in unfair price discrimination in the U.S. market. The Petitioners also filed a countervailing duty petition alleging that the Chinese government has provided actionable subsidies to producers of polypropylene corrugated boxes in China. The petitions were filed concurrently with the United States Department of Commerce ("Commerce Department") and the United States International Trade Commission ("USITC"), the two federal government agencies that will analyze the Petitioners' request for relief and issue preliminary and final determinations over the next 12-13 months.

The Petitioners filed the petitions in response to a surge in low-priced imports of polypropylene corrugated boxes from China and Vietnam that have injured the U.S. industry. The combined volume of imports from China and Vietnam has increased nearly five-fold between 2022 and 2024. Chinese and Vietnamese producers have massive capacity to produce polypropylene corrugated boxes and if left unchecked will continue to surge at even greater volumes.

The petitions filed by the Petitioners allege that Chinese and Vietnamese producers have injured the domestic industry by selling polypropylene corrugated boxes in the United States at unfairly low prices that significantly undercut domestic market prices. As a result of this unfair competition, the domestic industry has suffered declines in sales, production, employment, and profits. With Chinese and Vietnamese producers exporting their massive capacity to the United States, pricing in the U.S. market is quickly deteriorating, and prices are likely to continue to fall if remedial duties are not imposed.

"Surging imports of unfairly low-priced polypropylene corrugated boxes from China and Vietnam have placed significant pricing pressure on the U.S. market and caused severe injury to the domestic industry," commented John M. Herrmann, of Kelley Drye & Warren LLP, Petitioners' trade counsel. "The domestic industry looks forward to the opportunity to present its case to the Commerce Department and the U.S. International Trade Commission to obtain relief from unfairly traded imports and to restore fair competition in the U.S. market."

Antidumping duties are intended to offset the amount by which a product is sold at less than fair value, or "dumped," in the United States. The margin of dumping is calculated by the Commerce Department. Estimated duties in the amount of the dumping are collected from importers at the time of importation. The antidumping margins alleged in the petitions range from 40.85 percent ad valorem with respect to imports from Vietnam, to 83.49 percent ad valorem for imports from China. Countervailing duties are intended to offset unfair subsidies that are provided by foreign governments and benefit the production of a particular good. The countervailing duty petition on imports from China does not specify an estimated countervailing duty margin. The USITC, an independent federal agency, will determine whether imports of polypropylene corrugated boxes from China and Vietnam are a cause of, or threaten, material injury to the domestic industry.

As a result of the filing of the petitions, the Commerce Department will determine whether to initiate the antidumping and countervailing duty investigations within 20 days, and the USITC will reach a preliminary determination of material injury or threat of material injury within 45 days. The entire investigative process will take approximately one year, with final determinations of dumping, subsidization, and injury likely occurring in the second quarter of 2026.

The products subject to the unfair trade petitions include all imports of polypropylene corrugated boxes, totes, or other containers from China and Vietnam – regardless of whether the merchandise is imported with or without handles, lids, tops, or reinforcing wire, and whether in a one-piece or multi-piece configuration.

The petitioning companies are CoolSeal USA Inc., of Perrysburg, Ohio; Inteplast Group Corporation, of Livingston, New Jersey; SeaCa Plastic Packaging, of Kent, Washington; and Technology Container Corp., of Desoto, Texas. The Petitioners are represented by Kelley Drye & Warren LLP.

SOURCE CoolSeal USA Inc., Inteplast Group Corporation, SeaCa Plastic Packaging, and Technology Container Corp.