On May 11, 2023, the United States Department of Commerce (DOC) issued an official notice on the extension of the time to issue preliminary determinations in the anti-circumvention investigation of stapled products from Vietnam.
On November 15, 2022, the US Department of Commerce issued a notice on the official receipt of an application for an investigation against trade remedy anti-circumvention for staples originating from Vietnam.
According to preliminary data from the United States International Trade Commission (USITC), Vietnam exports about $18 million of the staples under investigation to the United States in 2021.
The amount of goods under investigation from Vietnam accounts for about 12% of the total export turnover of countries to the United States. Thereby, Vietnam is only behind China and South Korea in total staples exports to the United States.
On December 21, 2022, the DOC officially initiated an investigation into the anti-circumvention investigation of staple products from Vietnam and Thailand into the United States, alleging partial use or all materials originating from China in order to circumvent anti-dumping and countervailing duties imposed by the United States.
US extends time to issue preliminary determinations on anti-circumvention investigation of stapled products from Vietnam
Previously, the time to issue preliminary determinations of the DOC's investigation in anti-circumvention activity regarding stapled products from Vietnam was May 22, 2023. However, the DOC found that the above time is not enough to issue preliminary determinations because of the complicated nature of the case, with updated opinions and bases of many parties, therefore, the DOC decided to extend the time limit for issuing preliminary determinations of the investigation.
In addition, because US law does not provide the maximum amount of time for an extension of time to issue a preliminary determination, unlike the limit up to 65 days when issuing a final determination (in an anti-circumvention of trade remedy investigation) so the DOC opted for an 88-day extension.
Accordingly, the time limit for promulgating preliminary determinations on the anti-circumvention investigation of stapled products from Vietnam will be extended to August 18, 2023.
The notice can be download here.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
