Chinese Wood Mouldings From China Injured US Industry, Trade Court Rules in Backing ITC Finding

The Court of International Trade on March 28 upheld the International Trade Commission's affirmative injury determination in the antidumping duty and countervailing duty investigations on wood mouldings and millwork from China. Judge Leo Gordon said that Chinese exporter Jeld-Wen failed to successfully argue that laminated veneer lumber (LVL) is not included in the domestic like product for wood mouldings and millwork and that other economic factors, and not imports, caused the domestic injury. On the latter point, Gordon said that Jeld-Wen needed to show that its conclusion is the only one to be drawn from the record and not the preferred one -- something the plaintiff failed to do.

“The CIT’s important ruling yesterday found JELD-WEN’s challenge unfounded and sustained the International Trade Commission’s unanimous finding that unfairly traded Chinese imports injured U.S. producers of mouldings and millwork products," Laura El-Sabaawi, counsel for defendant-intervenor Coalition of American Millwork Producers, said in an email. "We are pleased that these critical AD/CVD orders will remain in effect, disciplining unfair trade from China and continuing to level the playing field for the American wood mouldings industry.”

Jeld-Wen brought its case to the trade court to contest four of the ITC's findings: (1) that LVL and other in-scope wood mouldings and millwork make a single domestic like product, (2) that there is a single domestic industry that includes producers of both LVL and other in-scope wood mouldings and millwork, (3) that conducting a material injury analysis over a material retardation analysis was reasonable and (4) that the injury to the U.S. wood mouldings and millwork industry was due to imports.

The subject of Jeld-Wen's first two issues with the ITC's findings is the inclusion of LVL in the domestic like product. The exporter argued that ITC misapplied its six-factor like product analysis, ignoring evidence that was used to find that a different product -- medium density fiberboard mouldings and millwork products (MDF) -- was dissimilar to wood mouldings and millwork. For instance, in the ITC's analysis of the physical characteristics and uses of the products, Jeld-Wen said that wood mouldings and millwork is made from solid or finger-jointed lumber while LVL and MDF are made from wood derived raw materials engineered with glue under heat and pressure to make the finished good.

However, Gordon said that this argument fell short since the commission found differences between LVL and MDF as the former is made from thin veneers of wood while MDF is made from sawdust and shavings mixed with resin and formed into MDF panels. "Given these findings, the court concludes that the ITC’s analysis of the physical-characteristics-and-uses factor reasonably supports its domestic like product determination," the judge said. Gordon then went down the list, looking at all six characteristics and finding that the ITC reasonably came to its conclusion.

As such, Gordon had grounds to rule against Jeld-Wen's second claim. As LVL is reasonably considered part of the domestic like product, the commission was justified in including LVL producers in the single domestic industry, the judge said. The judge also made quick work of Jeld-Wen's third claim, holding that since Jeld-Wen failed to raise the issue of a material retardation analysis at the administrative level, the exporter had not exhausted its administrative remedies, preempting judicial review.

Jeld-Wen's final claim -- that the domestic industry was not injured by imports but rather by other economic factors -- was similarly considered and rejected by the senior judge. In making its argument, Jeld-Wen needed to show that its conclusion was the only one to be drawn from the record and not just another one that could've resulted in a reasonable choice, Gordon said. "Plaintiff has failed to make such a showing, and accordingly, the court concludes that the ITC reasonably found that the volume, price effect, and impact of subject imports on the domestic producers of domestic like products were significant."

(Jeld-Wen v. United States, Slip Op. 22-31, CIT #21-00114, dated 03/28/22, Judge Leo Gordon. Attorneys: James Rogers of Nelson Mullins for plaintiff Jeld-Wen; Brian Soiset for defendant U.S. government; Timothy Brightbill of Wiley Rein for defendant-intervenor Coalition of American Millwork Producers)