New AD/CV Duties Requested on Melamine From 6 Countries

A domestic producer seeks the imposition of new antidumping duties and countervailing duties on melamine from Germany, India, Qatar and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as antidumping duties on melamine from Japan and the Netherlands, it said in petitions filed with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission Feb. 14. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations, which could result in the imposition of permanent AD/CVD orders and the assessment of AD and CVD on importers.

The Cornerstone Chemical Company filed the petitions. It said it's "the last remaining domestic melamine producer, and it is besieged."

AD/CVD orders have been in place since 2015 on melamine from China. Concurrently conducted AD/CVD investigations on melamine from Trinidad and Tobago found no injury at that time, so no AD/CVD orders were imposed on that country.

Proposed Scope

The petition proposes the following scope for the investigations, which is identical to the scope of the AD/CVD orders on melamine from China:

"The merchandise subject to these investigations is melamine (Chemical Abstracts Service (“CAS”) registry number 108–78–01, molecular formula C3 H6 N6). Melamine is a crystalline powder or granule typically (but not exclusively) used to manufacture melamine formaldehyde resins. All melamine is covered by the scope of these orders irrespective of purity, particle size, or physical form. Melamine that has been blended with other products is included within this scope when such blends include constituent parts that have been intermingled, but that have not been chemically reacted with each other to produce a different product. For such blends, only the melamine component of the mixture is covered by the scope of these orders. Melamine that is otherwise subject to these orders is not excluded when commingled with melamine from sources not subject to this investigation. Only the subject component of such commingled products is covered by the scope of these orders.

"The subject merchandise is provided for in subheading 2933.61.0000 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”). Although the HTSUS subheading and CAS registry number are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the scope is dispositive."

Commerce Accepting Comments on Petition Support

The Commerce Department will accept 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 antidumping and countervailing duty investigations.