Petition Filed for New AD Duties on Canadian Sodium Sulfate Anhydrous
A group of domestic manufacturers filed a petition on March 27 with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping duties on sodium sulfate anhydrous from Canada. Commerce will now decide whether to begin an AD duty investigation on the product, which is also known as "disodium sulfate," and is used in a variety of products including detergents, pulp and paper, glass, textiles, starch, carpet deodorizers and livestock mineral feed. The investigation was requested by Cooper Natural Resources, Inc., Elements Global LLC and Searles Valley Minerals, Inc.
Proposed Scope
The petition proposes the following scope for the investigations:
The scope of this investigation covers sodium sulfate (Na2SO4) (CAS Number 7757-82-6) that is anhydrous (i.e., containing no water), regardless of purity, grade, color, production method, and form of packaging, in which the percentage of particles between 20 mesh and 100 mesh, based on U.S. mesh series screens, ranges from 10% to 95% and the percentage of particles finer than 100 mesh, based on U.S. mesh series screens, ranges from 5% to 90%.
Excluded from the scope of this petition are specialty sodium sulfate anhydrous (“SSA”) products, which are products whose particle distributions fall outside the described ranges. Glauber’s sale (NA2SO4 10H20), also known as sodium sulfate decahydrate, an intermediate product in the production of SSA that has no known commercial uses, is not included within the scope of the petition, although some end-users may mistakenly refer to SSA as Glauber’s salt. Other forms of sodium sulfate that are hydrous (i.e., containing water) are also excluded from the scope of the petition.
The merchandise subject to this investigation is classifiable under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”) subheading 2833.11.50.10 (sodium sulfates, disodium sulfate, other, anhydrous). Subject merchandise may also be classified under 2833.11.10.00 (sodium sulfates, disodium sulfate, salt cake), and 2833.11.50.50 (sodium sulfates, disodium sulfate, other, other) and 2833.19.00.00 (sodium sulfates, other). Although the HTSUS subheadings and CAS registry number are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the scope of the investigation is dispositive.
Commerce Accepting Comments on Petition Support
The Commerce Department is accepting comments on domestic industry support for the petitions to determine whether the petitions meet the dual requirements of support by domestic producers or workers accounting for (1) at least 25% of the total production of the domestic-like product and (2) more than 50% of the production of the domestic-like product produced by that portion of the industry expressing support for, or opposition to, the petition. If the petitions meet these requirements, among others, Commerce will initiate an antidumping duty investigation. Comments are due April 16.
Email ITTNews@warren-news.com for a copy of the petition.