Washington, DC – In a win for U.S. producers of golf carts, personal transportation vehicles, low-speed vehicles, and light utility vehicles (collectively, LSPTVs), the U.S. International Trade Commission made an affirmative final determination today in the antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations on LSPTVs fromChina. The Commission found that domestic producers have been materially injured by unfairly traded imports of Chinese LSPTVs, paving the way for trade remedy orders to be put in place.
The Commission's determination follows petitions filed inJune 2024by the American Personal Transportation Vehicle Manufacturers Coalition, a coalition of leading U.S. manufacturers of LSPTVs, namely Club Car, LLC and Textron Specialized Vehicles Inc., which manufactures E-Z-GO® and Cushman® vehicles. Throughout the resulting investigations, the Coalition successfully demonstrated that dumped and subsidized LSPTVs fromChinahave injured the domestic industry.
Last month, the U.S. Department of Commerce determined that Chinese LSPTV imports are being unfairly traded, meaning that AD/CVD orders will now be issued on imports of these Chinese vehicles. Antidumping duties will be imposed at rates ranging from 119% to 478%, and countervailing duties will be imposed at rates between 31% and 679%.
As part of its final determination, the Commission also made an affirmative finding of critical circumstances with respect to its AD and CVD investigations. As a result, importers will be liable for critical circumstances duties based on Commerce's preliminary rates that will be applied retroactively for entries up to 90 days before Commerce's preliminary determinations.
"Today's vote by the Commission ensures that the domestic industry will be able to compete in a fairly traded market going forward," said Robert E. DeFrancesco, counsel to the Coalition and a partner in the International Trade Practice at Wiley Rein LLP. "This is a significant victory for U.S. manufacturers of golf carts and low-speed personal transportation vehicles. We look forward to the issuance of the orders, which will help level the playing field for domestic producers and their thousands of workers who have been injured by unfairly traded Chinese vehicles."
"The determination announced today will help to protect the health of a uniquely American industry and the livelihoods of thousands of American workers who build golf cars, low-speed vehicles, and personal-transportation vehicles to serve customers around the world," saidRob Scholl, president and CEO of Textron Specialized Vehicles Inc. "We appreciate the hard work of the U.S. International Trade Commission and its staff in investigating and adjudicating this important matter."
"This final determination from the U.S. International Trade Commission is a clear win for fair competition and the thousands of American jobs that power our industry," saidCraig Scanlon, President and CEO of Club Car. "It allows us to stay focused on what matters most – our customers – and continue delivering the high-quality, reliable vehicles and exceptional experience that have defined Club Car for decades. We are proud to engineer, build, and support our products right here in the U.S., and we appreciate the Commission and its staff for their thorough work in reaching this important decision."
Once issued, the AD/CVD orders will remain in effect for a minimum of five years, and there is an opportunity each year for the AD/CVD rates to increase through the annual administrative review process. The Coalition will now turn its attention to monitoring for any signs of duty evasion, absorption, transshipment or circumvention by foreign producers and U.S. importers, all of which are strictly illegal.
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