WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) has initiated an inquiry into whether imports of hardwood plywood imported from Vietnam, using components from China, circumvent the existing antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty orders on hardwood plywood from China.

In addition, DOC launched a concurrent inquiry to determine whether these hardwood plywood imports from Vietnam are covered by the scope of the AD/CVD orders on plywood from China. If DOC preliminarily determines that plywood from Vietnam is circumventing the existing AD/CVD orders, or that such plywood is within the scope of the orders, then Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to begin collecting cash deposits on plywood from Vietnam. The DOC said these duties would be imposed on future imports, and on any unliquidated entries since the date on which Commerce initiated these inquiries. 

The inquiries come in response to complaints lodged by the Coalition for Fair Trade in Hardwood Plywood (CFTHP). Members include Columbia Forest Products, Commonwealth Plywood Inc., Murphy Plywood, States Industries Inc. and Timber Products Co. In 2018, the DOC and International Trade Commission ruled in favor of a petition initiated by the CFTHP and placed antidumping duties approximating 200 percent on certain hardwood plywood imported from China.