Sep 24, 2019

Results in from Turkey cherries antidumping investigation

On Sept. 23, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced the affirmative preliminary determinations in the antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations of imports of dried tart cherries from Turkey, finding that exporters sold dried tart cherries at less than fair value at rates ranging from 541.29 to 648.35% and received countervailable subsidies at a rate of 204.93%.

Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits from importers of dried tart cherries from Turkey based on these preliminary rates.

In 2018, imports of dried tart cherries from Turkey were valued at an estimated $1.2 million.

These investigations were initiated based on petitions filed by the Dried Tart Cherry Trade Committee. The members are Cherry Central Cooperative (Traverse City, MI), Graceland Fruit, Inc. (Frankfort, MI), Payson Fruit Growers Coop (Payson, UT), Shoreline Fruit, LLC (Traverse City, MI), and Smeltzer Orchard Co. (Frankfort, MI).

The strict enforcement of U.S. trade law is a primary focus of the Trump Administration. Since the beginning of the current Administration, Commerce has initiated 182 new antidumping and countervailing duty investigations – a 231 percent increase from the comparable period in the previous administration.

Antidumping and countervailing duty laws provide American businesses and workers with an internationally accepted mechanism to seek relief from the harmful effects of the unfair pricing of imports into the United States. Commerce currently maintains 496 antidumping and countervailing duty orders which provide relief to American companies and industries impacted by unfair trade.

Commerce is currently scheduled to announce its final AD and CVD determinations on or about Dec. 5, 2019.

If Commerce makes affirmative final determinations, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) will be scheduled to make its final injury determinations on or about January 21, 2019. If Commerce makes affirmative final determinations in these investigations, and the ITC makes affirmative final injury determinations, Commerce will issue AD and CVD orders. If Commerce makes negative final determinations, or the ITC makes negative final determinations of injury, the investigations will be terminated and no orders will be issued.

Click HERE for a fact sheet on the decisions.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Enforcement and Compliance unit within the International Trade Administration is responsible for vigorously enforcing U.S. trade law and does so through an impartial, transparent process that abides by international law and is based on factual evidence provided on the record.

Foreign companies that price their products in the U.S. market below the cost of production or below prices in their home markets are subject to antidumping duties. Companies that receive unfair subsidies from their governments, such as grants, loans, equity infusions, tax breaks, or production inputs, are subject to countervailing duties aimed at directly countering those subsidies.