Wallbed Exclusion Sought in Chinese Bedroom Furniture Antidumping
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Wallbed Exclusion Sought in Chinese Bedroom Furniture AntidumpingWASHINGTON DC - The exclusion of certain wallbed systems from the Chinese wood bedroom furniture antidumping order is under review by the U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration.

On May 2, the DOC ITA posted in the Federal Register a "Notice of Initiation of Changed Circumstances Review, and Consideration of Revocation of the Antidumping Order in Part," based on a request by Techcraft Manufacturing Inc. (View PDF of the notice)

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Submitted March 12, Techcraft's request is for the following addition: "Excluded from the scope of the order are certain enclosable wall bed units, also referred to as murphy beds, which are composed of the following three major sections: (1) a steel wall frame, which attaches to the wall and uses coils or pistons to support the steel mattress frame; (2)a steel mattress frame, which has euro slats for supporting a mattress and two legs that pivot 180 degrees; and (3) wood panels, which attach to the steel wall frame and/or the steel mattress frame to form a cabinet to enclose the wall bed when not in use. Enclosable wall bed units are imported in ready-to-assemble format with all parts necessary for assembly, including hardware and a key lock. Enclosable wall bed units do not include a mattress. Wood panels of enclosable wall bed units,when imported separately, remain subject to the order."

A March 19 letter on behalf of the American Furniture Manufacturers Committee for Legal Trade and Vaughan-Bassett Furniture Co. Inc., which had spearheaded the initial antidumping petition back in 2004, noted their agreement "with the proposed scope exclusion language in Techcraft's changed circumstances review request."

Interested parties have until mid-May to submit comments on the notice. The DOC will issue a final determination in approximately 9 months.

It was back in January 2005 that the DOC first published the Notice of Amended Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Antidumping Duty Order: Wooden Bedroom Furniture From the People's Republic of China, 70 FR 329 following a successful petition by the American Furniture Manufacturers Committee for Legal Trade, a coalition at the time composed of 27 U.S. manufacturers of wooden bedroom furniture, as well as the locals of five unions: the Cabinet Makers, Millmen, and Industrial Carpenters Local 721; the UBC Southern Council of Industrial Workers Local Union 2305; the United Steel Workers of America Local 193U; the Carpenters Industrial Union Local 2093; and the Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers Local 991.

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