Dumping penalties imposed on PE bags from Indonesia, Vietnam, and Taiwan

On March 31, 2009, bag makers Hilex Poly Co. LLC (Hartsville, SC) and Superbag Corp. (Houston, TX) petitioned Commerce to investigate the alleged dumping, and on May 14, 2009, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) voted unanimously that the domestic bag-making industry was materially injured by the dumped imports.

Going forward, importers of polyethylene retail carrier bags from Taiwan are now required to cover the estimated antidumping duties through a bond or cash deposit. Once the preliminary determinations are published in the Federal Register, which should happen within the week, importers will also have to post bonds or pay cash deposits for plastic bags from Indonesia and Vietnam. In addition, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will suspend liquidation of those entries pending Commerce’s final determinations in the investigations. Those investigations must be completed within 135 days, and the ITC will make a final determination within 180 days. If Commerce and the ITC each make affirmative final determinations, antidumping duty orders will imposed in March 2010.

According to ITC data, the volume of bags imported from Vietnam more than doubled from 2006 to 2007, exploding from just over 3 million to 7.28 million in 2007. Last year, they dropped down to 7.19 million bags. The increase from Indonesia was similar, with 2006’s imports of 1.59 million jumping to 3.39 million in 2007, before dropping to 2.81 million in 2008. Taiwan’s imports increased from 2006 to 2007 as well, rising from 2.17 million to 3.98 million. Unlike Indonesia and Vietnam, they continued to expand in 2008, hitting 4.57 million. The dollar value of imports of plastic bags from Vietnam, Indonesia, and Taiwan in 2008 were $79 million, $38 million, and $51 million, respectively. —Tony Deligio