On October 13, 2023, the United States Department of Commerce (DOC) initiated a scope ruling and anti-circumvention investigation on aluminum wire cable products from Vietnam, Cambodia, and South Korea.
The product under investigation is aluminum wire cable with Harmonized System codes 8544.49.9000 and 8544.42.9090. According to the initiation notice by the DOC, aluminum wire cable products imported from Vietnam to the United States are alleged to be finished products using raw materials imported from China, such as stranded aluminum wire or unfinished aluminum wire.
Specifically, Vietnamese businesses are alleged to have made insignificant changes to the Chinese wire products and then exported them to the United States. If proven true, these businesses will be determined as engaging in circumvention of the anti-dumping and countervailing duties applied to China and consequently, will face corresponding duties applied.
In 2019, the United States imposed anti-dumping duties ranging from 58.51% to 63.47% and countervailing duties from 33.44% to 165.63% on aluminum wire cable products imported from China.
According to current U.S. regulations, the DOC will issue its final determination in the anti-circumvention investigation within 300 days from the initiation notice date. This period may be extended by an additional 65 days if necessary, making the total maximum duration one year from the initiation notice date.
The United States initiates scope product investigation on aluminum wire cable products from Vietnam
According to U.S. regulations, aluminum wire cable products from Vietnam will be considered subject to U.S. anti-dumping and countervailing measures if they are assembled from one or more of the following aluminum alloy conductors (AA 8000, 1350, 6201) and meet the following conditions:
(1) At least one of the conductors is insulated.
(2) Each conductor has a voltage rating greater than 80 volts and not exceeding 1000 volts.
(3) At least one conductor is stranded and has a size no smaller than 16.5 kcmil and no larger than 1000 kcmil.
The assembly process may include:
(1) Ground or neutral conductors,
(2) Covering with aluminum, steel, or other basic metal, or
(3) Including a central steel support conductor, one or more connectors, grounding conductors, shieldings, coverings, or other filler materials.
According to current U.S. regulations, the DOC will issue its final determination within 120 days in the scope product investigation. This period may be extended by an additional 180 days if necessary.
The DOC's announcement can be downloaded here.
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