United States: New Antidumping And Countervailing Duties ("ADCVD") Petition On Aluminum Extrusions Submitted, Covering An Estimated $1.5 Billion In Imports

On October 4, 2023, a new ADCVD petition ("the Petition") covering an estimated $1.5 billion in imports of aluminum exclusions was submitted before the U.S. Department of Commerce ("Commerce") and the U.S. International Trade Commission ("USITC.") The Petition alleges that certain aluminum extrusion from Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam are being or are more than likely being sold at less than normal value. Furthermore, of these 15 countries, the Petition further alleges that imports from China, Indonesia, Mexico, and Turkey are being subsidized by their home countries. Given the above, the Petition identified the below estimated dumping margins and requested an investigation into the imposition of antidumping and countervailing duties.

As provided within the scope of the Petition, the covered products are aluminum extrusions, regardless of form, finishing, or fabrication, whether assembled with other parts or unassembled, whether coated, painted, anodized, or thermally improved. While similar to ADCVD orders A-570-967 and C-570-968, which cover aluminum extrusion products from China, the Petition does contain significant variations in scope. First, the Petition focuses on imports from 15 different countries, compared to just one. Additionally, the Petition's scope language also specifically notes that aluminum extrusions that have been further processed in a third country – which includes, but is not limited to, finishing and fabrication processes, assembly processes whether with other aluminum extrusion components or with non-aluminum extrusion components, or other processes that wouldn't remove the product from the scope – are captured by the Petition.

The Petition's scope language is also more inclusive with regards to the aluminum alloy components. The Petition specifically notes that it covers aluminum extrusions made from aluminum alloys having metallic elements corresponding to an Aluminum Associations series designation commencing with the numbers 1, 3, 5, and 6. This is a distinction from orders A-570-967 and C-570-968, which only cover products with series designations commencing with the number 1, 3, and 6. Also unlike orders A-570-967 and C-570-968, finished heat sinks (which are products made from aluminum extrusions designed to meet specific thermal performance requirement) are included in the scope. As provided in the Petition's scope, the types of subject products include, but are not limited to, vehicle roof rails and sun/moon roof framing, solar panel racking rails and framing, tradeshow display fixtures and framing, parts for tents or clear span structures, fence posts, drapery rails or rods, electrical conduits, door thresholds, flooring trim, electric vehicle battery trays, heat sinks, signage or advertising poles, picture frames, telescoping poles, or cleaning system components.

Establishing the above scope, the Petition requested an investigation of imports of the subject merchandise going as far back as 2019. For reference, in 2022, the U.S. import value of the identified subject merchandise was estimated by the Petition to be at $3.2 billion. From January 2022 – June 2022 and January 2023 – June 2023, the estimated import values were $1.5 billion and $1.4 billion, respectively. Given the Petition's breadth, hundreds of different entities were identified as known exporters and importers and may be directly or indirectly impacted by the Petition.

Per 19 CFR § 351.203, Commerce has 20 days after the Petition's date of filing to determine whether to initiate an investigation. Importers will need to closely monitor developments related to the Petition, given the potential impact it may have on numerous covered products. Crowell & Moring will continue to monitor developments related to the Petition and its impact. For additional inquiries, contact the team below.

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