The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) will not launch a new investigation into plywood imports from China for the time being. With this decision, the DOC dismissed a petition filed by four U.S. plywood producers on 15 February.
In the petition, the plaintiffs called for more far-reaching reviews to complement the investigation completed at the end of 2017. Specifically, they aimed to expand the subject of the probe into plywood made with softwood veneer faces. The companies report that a variety of Chinese plywood manufacturers have started to switch outer faces with softwood veneers in response to punitive duties imposed on hardwood plywood products at the start of the year.
Section 781c of the U.S. Tariff Act of 1930 allows the investigation to be expanded as long as the new object of the investigation only varies slightly from the grades covered to date. The probes conducted to date addressed laminated and unlaminated plywood with two or more layers whose top face solely consists of hardwood veneers or bamboo. Against this backdrop, the DOC feels that plywood with softwood outer faces cannot be seen as a minor product change to the object of the investigation.