Tag Archives: ADD/CVD

Importer and company executives pay $5.2 million penalty under the FCA.

April 26, 2020 By in AD/CVD, ADD/CVD, Attorney, DOJ, false claims act, furniture, international trade, qui tam, trade war, Uncategorized, whistleblower, Wooden bedroom furniture Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment
pexels-photo-3958960

Photo by Curtis Adams on Pexels.com

The DOJ recently announced a $5.2 million settlement from importer, Blue Furniture Solutions, LLC, based on alleged importation of merchandise into the United States using false descriptions and invoices that claimed the merchandise was not within the scope of the antidumping duties on wooden bedroom furniture from China.

A whistleblower under the FCA’s qui tam provisions exposed Blue Furniture Solution’s intentional misrepresentations totaling $1.7 million in antidumping payments. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) intervened under the FCA.

One year later, on April 20, 2020, the DOJ announced the $.52 million settlement – in which the company pays $4.7 million and executives pay $550,000 for personal liability. Information on this case can be found in the following: United States ex rel. University Loft Company v. Blue Furniture Solutions, LLTC et al., No. 15-CV-588-LY (W.D. Tex.). The related criminal matter appeared under the case name United States v. Zeng, No. 19-CR-64-DCN (D.S.C.).

If you believe an importer is misrepresenting their customs entry to save on AD duties, or if you are a subject of an FCA investigation, contact experienced customs and trade law attorney David Hsu at 832-896-6288 by phone or text; or email attorney.dave@yahoo.com.

Florida Tomato Exchange asks Commerce Department to reopen antidumping investigation

October 14, 2019 By in ADD/CVD, Antidumping, Mexico tomatoes, tomato, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment
board close up cooking delicious

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

On Monday, the Florida Tomato Exchange requested for continuation of the antidumping investigation of fresh tomatoes from Mexico. This is surprising as the investigation was suspended on September 19, 2019, when a new suspension agreement between the Department of Commerce and Mexican growers and exporters went into effect.
The reason for the reopening of the investigation is that the Mexican tomato industry doesn’t agree with the agreement, even though they voluntarily signed the agreement last month.
While the investigation may be reopened, the suspension agreement is not automatically terminated. Once the new investigation is completed, Commerce and the International Trade Commission is tasked to determine whether or not Mexican tomatoes were dumped into the US and whether it caused injury to the US tomato industry. If there is a finding of injury, then the agreement will stay in place – if there is no finding, the agreement will be terminated.
If there is an affirmative finding, the Mexican growers have the option to withdrawal from the agreement, triggering another 90-day time frame to renegotiate before antidumping duties are imposed.
If you have any questions about this or any other antidumping and countervailing duty action, contact trade attorney David Hsu at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com, dh@gjatradelaw.com.

US and Mexico reach deal to end tomato dispute.

August 29, 2019 By in ADD/CVD, Mexico tomatoes, Uncategorized, USMCA Tags: , , , Leave a comment
board close up cooking delicious

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

According to Reuters, Mexican tomato growers and the Trump administration reached a deal to end a potential anti-dumping investigation and end a tariff dispute. The agreement means many Mexican tomato exports will be subject to U.S. border inspections, and specialty tomatoes face higher reference prices on the American marketplace.

The negotiations began back in May when the Trump administration imposed a 17.5% tariff on Mexican tomatoes after the parties did not reach an agreement.

The Commerce Department said the new deal will ensure sales do not fall below certain prices for Mexican tomatoes and allows a mechanism to audit up to 80 Mexican tomato producers per quarter, or more.

If you have any questions how the tomato deal may impact your business – contact experienced trade attorney David Hsu at dh@gjatradelaw.com or attorney.dave@yahoo.com.

Canadian sofa bed manufacturer no longer shipping to US due to 1,732% duties on Chinese mattresses.

July 12, 2019 By in AD/CVD, ADD/CVD, China, Commerce, mattress, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment
photo of living room

Photo by Milly Eaton on Pexels.com

According to a news article from the vancouverisawesome.com webasite, a Vancouver-based company has cancelled shipping their sofa beds into the US due to the 1,732% antidumping duty on Chinese mattresses that are used in their sofa beds. The U.S. Department of Commerce in May dumping rates of 34% to 75% for some Chinese manufacturers with an “all others” rate of 1,732%.

The company claims their sofa beds costing $600 will cost $113,000 due to the tariffs because the sofa beds include the mattress.

Fortunately the company does not only sell beds, and can rely on their Canadian made products. In fact, being made in Canada will probably make this company more competitive than their competitors who rely on Chinese imports for other goods that are likely covered under Lists 1-3 and a potential List 4.

The Commerce Department has set October 11, 2019 as the announcement date for their final decision on antidumping duties for mattresses imported from China.

If you have questions on how this or any other antidumping duty or countervailing duty will impact you and your business, contact experienced trade attorney David Hsu at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com, dh@gjatradelaw.com.

US Kitchen cabinet companies petition for anti-dumping duties against Chinese cabinet producers.

March 9, 2019 By in AD/CVD, ADD/CVD, China, kitchen cabinet, tariffs, trade war, Uncategorized Tags: , , , Leave a comment
kitchen and dining area

Photo by Mark McCammon on Pexels.com

The American Kitchen Cabinet Alliance (AKCA) filed a petition with the International Trade Commission to impose antidumping duties and tariffs on imports of cabinets from Chinese manufacturers.

The AKCA claims the $10 billion cabinet industry is being harmed by imports of cabinets from Chinese manufacturers. The AKCA claims U.S. cabinet manufacturers have seen poor financial performance despite a 12.5% increase in the number of housing units completed in the U.S. The AKCA blames cheap imports from China for their financial decline.

The petition to the ITC by AKCA claims the kitchen cabinets from China are also sold at a below normal value and the AKCA is requesting an ADD rate of 175.5% to 259%.

If you are an importer or manufacturer of kitchen cabinets and ahve questions how the investigation on kitchen cabinets may impact you, contact attorney David Hsu at attorney.dave@yahoo.com or by text/call at 832.896.6288.