Zhejiang Yuhua Timber spared from proposed U.S. duties on Chinese wood flooring imports; company attorney says business certainty will enhance competitiveness

Lorena Madrigal

WASHINGTON , October 18, 2011 (press release) – In every antidumping/countervailing duty investigation foreign manufacturers have the opportunity to argue that they are not dumping and don't receive government subsidies. In almost every case the Department of Commerce determines that all foreign manufacturers are dumping, and do receive government subsidies. Therefore it was a significant event when Zhejiang Yuhua Timber Co., Ltd. ("Yuhua") received zero antidumping and countervailing duty margins from the Department of Commerce.

On October 12, 2011 the Department of Commerce announced the antidumping and countervailing duty rates in Multilayered Wood Flooring from China. In addition to the other two companies specifically investigated by Commerce, the wood flooring manufacturing industry has seventy-seven other manufacturers qualifying for separate antidumping duty rates but only Yuhua received the zero dumping margins and no countervailing duty margins.

Jeffrey Neeley, a partner at Barnes, Richardson & Colburn and lead attorney for Yuhua discussed how Yuhua was able to achieve this singular result. "This was a perfect example of how teamwork and experience pay off," Neeley said. "While trade cases are very difficult for respondents, our client worked very hard to provide information and our experienced co-counsel in China did an outstanding job in assisting in the preparation. Our team in Washington worked with the China side of the team and with our knowledge of Commerce Department practice to get this result. We are very happy for our client."

The benefit of this teamwork may continue to pay dividends for Yuhua for years to come. All of Yuhua's Chinese competitors may have additional duties imposed on their products while Yuhua now is exempt from any duties. However, perhaps more importantly, Yuhua's customers will also have the business certainty of knowing that there will be no additional duties imposed for the foreseeable future. "In an industry with antidumping and countervailing duties in place, business certainty is a vital benefit to importers," said Jeffrey Neeley. "Its value cannot be overestimated."

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