"The Commerce Department preliminarily determined that exporters from China have sold cast iron soil pipe fittings in the United States at 68.37 to 109.95 percent less than fair value, the release said. "Commerce will instruct US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to collect cash deposits from importers of cast iron soil pipe fittings from China based on these preliminary rates."
The decision provides relief to US producers from "the market-distorting effects of potential dumping while we continue our investigation," US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in the release.
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Duties will become permanent if the Commerce Department makes an affirmative final determination of dumping and the US International Trade Commission rules that US competitors have been injured by the practice, the release explained.
The release emphasized that the Commerce Department has initiated 94 antidumping and countervailing duties since President Donald Trump’s inauguration last January, an 81 percent increase from the previous period.
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Increased enforcement of US trade laws is a prime focus of Trump administration, according to the release.
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